My discussion group at the Ethical Society spent several hours on Saturday morning involved in a special project. The one we chose was Food Outreach, an organization that provides nutritious meals for people with HIV, AIDS, and cancer. Our group, plus friends and significant others, arrived at 8:00 a.m., donned hats or hairnets, aprons, and surgical gloves and went to work. A room full of volunteers put cooked food in little containers, snapped on lids, and filled trays stacked on tall metal frames. The food was amazing; the people were amazing; the whole morning was amazing.
People moved from chore to chore, doing whatever was needed at that moment. Everyone worked with speed, efficiency, and enthusiasm for almost four hours. The positive energy in that room was palpable. Frankly, I had been worried about standing that long or doing things that required hand dexterity. But I found lots to do that didn't require much of my hands, and standing turned out to be no problem.
This was my first experience with a volunteer project of this magnitude, but the feeling I had when I was finished was enough to tell me it would not be the last. The morning reminded me of a profound but simple life lesson: There is no better use of one's time and energy than doing something that will benefit others.
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