Soul Canyon Training & Development

Give

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

        – Mohandas K. Gandhi

When I was 7, my Mom was our Cub Scout Den Mother.  In November of 1966, she wanted to impart a lesson to all of us Cubs about service, so she took up donations, and we assembled care baskets — including turkeys, stuffing and everything you needed for a first class Thanksgiving Dinner — and delivered them to folks in our little town — Burley, Idaho.  To this day I remember that experience and how it made me feel.

When I lived in Rochester, New York I was a youth leader at our church.  We decided one year to take up a collection from our congregation to buy Christmas gifts to deliver to people who wouldn’t be able to afford Christmas.  We collected the money, bought some really cool things — dolls, hotwheels, games — and a really awesome electric slot car set.  We wrapped them and worked with one of the local service agencies to identify folks that we could deliver them to.  When they evening came to deliver the presents — a few days before Christmas – I loaded the guys into my station wagon and we set off for the not-so-awesome part of Rochester.

The experience of delivering the gifts was incredible, but all our lives were touched by one delivery in particular — that awesome slot car set that we took to a 7 year-old boy, whose mother was being treated for cancer.  We had a little trouble finding the place, but we finally figured out where the apartment was.  I parked the car and the four of us got out and made our way to the door.  We knocked and received no answer.  We knocked again and heard a faint “hold on a minute” coming from somewhere inside.  We waited in front of the door while a bit of that Upstate New York December breeze nibbled at our necks.  Eventually a shy boy opened the door.  As we stepped inside, the boy saw the gift and we could tell he knew it was for him.  His face brightened…..but then I noticed his mom making her way down the stairs — extremely frail — carrying her IV.  When she saw the gift, tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks.  She gave us each a hug. Every single one of the boys…. and I … had tears in our eyes before all the hugging was done.

The Mom asked the little boy to put the gift under the tree, and we followed him into the empty living room.  No furniture.  No lights.  But, up against the window there was a 4-foot bare Christmas Tree with no presents underneath it.  The boy proudly put the gift there and then came and gave each of us a hug.  After a few minutes, we said goodbye and slowly walked to the car.  As we drove back to the suburbs, there were few words — but the unspoken connection of love through service we now shared — and that we’d continue to share — had taken us, collectively, to a different place.

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself “     

            — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are you bummed out about the economy and fearful of the future?  Are you worried about your job, company, portfolio and whether or not you can afford to have a good Christmas this year? 

Want to feel better?

Here is something I’d ask you to do — right now.  As you go to the grocery store to shop for your Thanksgiving feast, go to a store that will give you a turkey free, or really inexpensively if you spend $25 or $50 on groceries.  Go through the line 3 or 4 times and get some extra turkeys.  Take the extra turkeys down to your local food pantry or soup kitchen — or somehow get them to someone who wouldn’t otherwise be having turkey for Thanksgiving this year.

Love is connection.  Connection is flow.  Flow leads to abundance — and fear shuts it all down.

Reach out to help another and you’ll quickly realize that your temporary fear and trepidation is a paper-thin illusion.   

Peace to you.

Rob, Mary and Wes