Become a Volunteer

Become a Volunteer: I find a great deal of wisdom in the ancient persian proverb “I wept because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.” It is so easy to magnify our problems and lose sight of the many blessings we all have to be so very grateful for. Giving the gift of your time by volunteering to serve those who have less than you is an excellent way to remind yourself on a regular basis of the abundance that exists in your life.  Once I was attending a conference, a man came up to me and told me he was one of the top managers of a big media company. One of the reasons for his success, he said, was his habit of spending a few hours a week helping those less fortunate than he was. “Seeing what others don’t have keeps me awake to all the good things I do have. It  prevents me from taking things for granted and, even more importantly, helps me make a difference in the lives of people who really need me.”  French physician Albert Schweitzer observed, "I don't know what your destiny will be but one thing I do know; The only ones among you who will be happy are those  who have sought and found how to serve." And Anne Morrow Lindberg wrote, “One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay ‘in kind’ somewhere else in life." Volunteering affords you the chance to help others and pay back the debt owed to those who have helped you.