Despair & Service
- At July 22, 2017
- By admin
- In Annes Letters
0
July 22, 2017
After lunch had been served
“You have seen firsthand that these are good folks. They have just had a hard time. When you are young, you think of life as a progression that moves forward, one step up after another. But sometimes misfortune happens and things change. Or you reach a certain age and then you no longer climb higher on the social ladder. In fact, you start going down. These people used to have good jobs. But one got sick and was fired. Another was laid off because the factory where he worked closed down. Another could never get a foothold after he lost everything in the 2011 disaster.
“It is not these people who are at fault. It is the system. It works against them. Changing the political and economic systems is a huge task, too large for any one of us. But we do what we can do. We address what is immediately before us. We clothe and feed the homeless. We get them medical attention, housing when we can, jobs if possible. But maybe the greatest gift we can give them is a sense of dignity, of being recognized as human beings worthy of our respect.
“Don’t forget what you learned today. Carry it in your hearts always. Keep your mind large. And always be on the lookout for how you can be of service to others.”
Love,
Anne
Dear Family and Friends,
One of the greatest challenges I find is to be fully immersed in life and at the same time maintain a positive outlook. I listen to an array of news every morning, and each site resonates with despair beyond measure.
One American friend sent a particularly poignant message, explaining her point of view. “I give dollar bills to homeless people who sit at stop lights at freeway exits. It provides a momentary connection when I can acknowledge their humanity and the tragedy and injustice of their situation but I understand completely that I am not helping them . . .
“There are so many grassroots organizations, everywhere you look, it’s fragmented, disorganized, and there are duplicative efforts covering the same ground over and over.
“My job gets harder and more demanding — patients are needier as the social safety net frays and breaks, AND corporatization is gobbling up the health care industry as every day we get “one more thing” that we are required to do along with the disingenuous and hypocritical exhortation to practice “work-life balance” and “self care” (new buzz phrases that make my skin crawl.)
“I don’t have hope.”
Today I finally had time to volunteer with Imai Sensei’s Yomawari group. It was good to be back with those gentle souls, both the regular volunteers and the homeless. This time there was a rather large group of high school students with their teacher, gaining firsthand experience in helping those in need.
One of the greatest challenges I find is to be fully immersed in life and at the same time maintain a positive outlook. I listen to an array of news every morning, and each site resonates with despair beyond measure.
One American friend sent a particularly poignant message, explaining her point of view. “I give dollar bills to homeless people who sit at stop lights at freeway exits. It provides a momentary connection when I can acknowledge their humanity and the tragedy and injustice of their situation but I understand completely that I am not helping them . . .
“There are so many grassroots organizations, everywhere you look, it’s fragmented, disorganized, and there are duplicative efforts covering the same ground over and over.
“My job gets harder and more demanding — patients are needier as the social safety net frays and breaks, AND corporatization is gobbling up the health care industry as every day we get “one more thing” that we are required to do along with the disingenuous and hypocritical exhortation to practice “work-life balance” and “self care” (new buzz phrases that make my skin crawl.)
“I don’t have hope.”
Today I finally had time to volunteer with Imai Sensei’s Yomawari group. It was good to be back with those gentle souls, both the regular volunteers and the homeless. This time there was a rather large group of high school students with their teacher, gaining firsthand experience in helping those in need.
After lunch had been served
and clothes distributed,
Imai Sensei gathered all the young volunteers together for a question and answer session. He talked about the situation of the men and women who live on the street.
“You have seen firsthand that these are good folks. They have just had a hard time. When you are young, you think of life as a progression that moves forward, one step up after another. But sometimes misfortune happens and things change. Or you reach a certain age and then you no longer climb higher on the social ladder. In fact, you start going down. These people used to have good jobs. But one got sick and was fired. Another was laid off because the factory where he worked closed down. Another could never get a foothold after he lost everything in the 2011 disaster.
“It is not these people who are at fault. It is the system. It works against them. Changing the political and economic systems is a huge task, too large for any one of us. But we do what we can do. We address what is immediately before us. We clothe and feed the homeless. We get them medical attention, housing when we can, jobs if possible. But maybe the greatest gift we can give them is a sense of dignity, of being recognized as human beings worthy of our respect.
“Don’t forget what you learned today. Carry it in your hearts always. Keep your mind large. And always be on the lookout for how you can be of service to others.”
Love,
Anne
