Reaching Out

THIS pandemic has seen the best and the worst in us. Of course the worst are those who have taken advantage. We need not talk about that. Nothing is secret. The light will always expose the darkness. God knows. Rather let us focus on the goodness of people and their light.

I read a story about a PUV driver who gave out free rides because it was his way helping. No he is not running for office. He is just decent and helpful. The goodness of the act was the motivation itself. When he was asked why he did that he simply said he just wanted to help.

And of course there are the pantries that are going up in almost all parts of the country. Unfortunately there are some politicians who are using that as an election ploy. But as I said, God knows. But the majority of those people who work in those pantries are volunteers. Cooks, bakers, drivers, security etc are all there doing their share because they want to with no thought of getting something in return. They do it because it is the right thing and the right thing is the reason enough. Nothing else.

We all can do our part in whatever way we can. All of us have something to give. No one is so poor that he or she cannot give. We can share our time, talent, skill, knowledge and whatever it is that we are fortunate to have.

My wife and I are scared of going out and so that takes out the pantry volunteerism. Besides we do not know how to cook or bake and we would probably be terrible security personnel. Same thing with the PUV rides. But we do our share in our own way. I will not say what it is because it will just defeat the purpose. But it was something that we felt we needed to do and so every week we do it. It is our community pantry or free ride.

Most people know that the Chinese character of crisis is a combination of two other characters that represent danger and opportunity. It depends on how we look at things and how we respond to them. Some act with kindness and humanity while others well…

And how we respond depends a lot on our character. A renowned Zen master shared something which would be apt. “When my master and I were walking in the rain he would say ‘ Do not walk so fast, the rain is everywhere.’

We have no control over our environment and our “rain.” What we do have within is our response to the rains and the circumstances of our lives. Some, like those volunteers and drivers rise to the moment.

They embrace the rain.