Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King
...have been led by circumstances to put cynicism, irreverent yoga jokes, and gratuitous calls for cookies aside...for the moment...in favor of shameless plugs...raising the age old question if a shameless plug is for a worthy cause, is it still shameless?...
...signed up to join a bunch o’ coffee shop compatriots to volunteer at a homeless shelter this coming Monday...nothin’ like an opportunity to harass friends while helping the needy....it’s a beautiful thing....and thought I'd drop a suggestion that anyone out there not already committed to the Martin Luther King Day of Staying Home and Drinking Beer in Front of the Tube or the Martin Luther King Day of Grumbling About Having to Work on a Holiday can check out the Martin Luther King Day of Service* website for ways to get involved locally...
...while those feeling less motivated can help out victims of the earthquake in Haiti from the comforts of their own easy chairs in front o’ the tube...perhaps maxing out the old credit card with a donation to Doctors Without Borders to help pay for one o’ those inflatable hospitals...really, they got inflatable hospitals...check em' out...and, as slammin’ some beers tends to loosen up the wallet, this socially conscious blogger says drink up before making your contribution...or practice some yoga...whatever works...
...this post has not, technically, been approved by either Martin Luther King or Thich Nhat Hanh...pictured above...but I think they'd be cool with it...
Martin Luther King
...have been led by circumstances to put cynicism, irreverent yoga jokes, and gratuitous calls for cookies aside...for the moment...in favor of shameless plugs...raising the age old question if a shameless plug is for a worthy cause, is it still shameless?...
...signed up to join a bunch o’ coffee shop compatriots to volunteer at a homeless shelter this coming Monday...nothin’ like an opportunity to harass friends while helping the needy....it’s a beautiful thing....and thought I'd drop a suggestion that anyone out there not already committed to the Martin Luther King Day of Staying Home and Drinking Beer in Front of the Tube or the Martin Luther King Day of Grumbling About Having to Work on a Holiday can check out the Martin Luther King Day of Service* website for ways to get involved locally...
...while those feeling less motivated can help out victims of the earthquake in Haiti from the comforts of their own easy chairs in front o’ the tube...perhaps maxing out the old credit card with a donation to Doctors Without Borders to help pay for one o’ those inflatable hospitals...really, they got inflatable hospitals...check em' out...and, as slammin’ some beers tends to loosen up the wallet, this socially conscious blogger says drink up before making your contribution...or practice some yoga...whatever works...
...this post has not, technically, been approved by either Martin Luther King or Thich Nhat Hanh...pictured above...but I think they'd be cool with it...
*thanks to April for pointing out that my MLK Day link didn't work...it does now...
16 comments:
Without any snark in myself this morning (not yet anyway)...I support your support. Already got my own thing lined up.
Inflatable hospitals?...cool.
you're right.... we spend our money on ridiculous things really (like beer) so casually, yet resist supporting people in need.
Namaste, Dr J - thanks for the picture of young Thich Nhat Hanh. I adore him.
Thank you for raising awareness. I have already sent a donation through the Red Cross.
This is such a great reminder, Jay--and such an important cause. Those poor people in Haiti.
Interestingly, I had lunch with John Woodbridge (the one who gave me the old pictures of the New Shakespeare Company a few weeks ago) and he is now a Red Cross volunteer. I just found out he's heading for Haiti. Wish I could go with him to do more than just run my plastic through the machine. But of course, that's needed to.
One of the things that really does lift me up when life starts getting me down is seeing the remarkable kindness and strength of the human spirit in times like this. It truly is awesome to see people come together for one good cause.
Melinda
What a great idea. I think I will try to get my girls out to do a little volunteering on Monday!
so I tried to use the "day of service website" and realized the link should end in .gov, not .org. No worries. I can trouble shoot. What I didn't expect is for the site to tell me there are ZERO (yup, none!) volunteer opportunities in my zip code. Come on? Really? I live in a rather small city with some serious issues with poverty and unemployment and there are NO volunteer opportunities within 30 miles? Guess that means I'll have to search for one on my own! thanks for the post that made me at least think about doing more than drinking a beer and donating money to Haiti (which I've already done once thus far).
Good post! Thank you for asking people to serve, give or both! Well done!
in my own tiny present moment local way I contribute by buying food for the local food pantry. Haiti, such a huge huge disaster, my small prayers are just a teeny raindrop into the healing and help. Thanks for the info re: Doctors. hard to know who/where to donate to but that would be a good one.
ad miller, surely there is a food kitchen and or food pantry. You can donate food alone to the pantry, but I think also work there doing things. I live in the boondocks but even here these things exist.
one of the things i really like about you is that you do not preach... you do not keep any distance... you just walk with us for a short while... chatting casually about some seemingly unrelated subjects... and when you leave, something is changed... in us? in the world? in the perspective?
makes any difference?
change is change
and it's good...
thanks for this, Dr. Jay...
re the marvelous title:
shameless is much better than sham and less...
:D
A very kind and compassionate post, drjay. Shameless? Absolutely not. I like what human being wrote to you up there. He is so right.
And why do I have the feeling that your friends will enjoy your harassment?
Thank you for the link and may you have a great MLK Day.
We've sent in a financial donation for Haiti. There's a church in our area accepting medical supplies, as well. I'm thinking about donating the sling from my recent surgery...
I'm thinking shameless is a good thing dr jay...shameful...not so much.
so be shameless...love the photo!!!!
No shame in such plugs. At all. The more the merrier.
Absolutely adore the quote. Do I have to help people or does volunteering at the Humane Society count...as sometimes I rather prefer animals?
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