Some of us may be profoundly discouraged about the world we
think we know. So many of our news media sources are relentlessly filled
with stories of natural disaster, grinding poverty, war and death. It is
hard not to be drawn into this negativity. Bad news is news!
Good news doesn't sell TV and newspapers as well. Therefore, it may be
hard for us to realize that in many ways the world is becoming a better
place.
Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times,
reports that fewer children worldwide are starving or dying of disease now than
at any time in recorded history, and that more children are in school.
Kristof continues ---- "In impoverished Haiti, health care shows basic
improvements. More than four out of five Haitian children get some
childhood immunizations. De-worming is now widespread. In the old
days, these kids would be dead."
In 1970, columnist Kristof tells us, almost 25% of Haitian
children died before their fifth birthday. At last count, however, the
figure was just 7%. Compare today with 15 years ago. Now, each hour
one less child dies.
"As families grow more confident that their children
will survive," says Kristof, "they also have fewer of them. In
2005, the average woman in Haiti could be expected to have five children.
Now the figure is about three births per woman."
As we think about these positive trends and examples of
progress in the world, several things may come to mind. First, it took
joint efforts by the U.N., many governments and numerous not-for-profit
organizations, engaging large numbers of people, to make these positive
"macro" changes happen.
Secondly, they did not happen overnight. Indeed some
worthy attempts at concerted positive change were failures, and many succeeded
only because they were long-term efforts. Indeed, sometimes it took years
before substantial progress was seen. The issues were not just about
funding. Often, the changes required in people and their cultures met
strong resistance. This resistance had to be overcome, and that often
took time and skill. But, in the last analysis, it would seem that the
"change lubricant" most often successful was people-to-people relationships
---- not distant bureaucracy. It was people teaching each other,
encouraging each other, and working side by side.
Well, is there a lesson for you and me in this? I
don't know about you, but I cannot take off a year to go work on a health project
in Haiti. But, if I stay home, are there any other ways I can bring some
HOPE to forgotten people?
You know what I am going to say to you ---- that there are
some ways. But, that YOU must find them, in efforts specifically
meaningful to yourself. All I can do is offer some suggestions on how to
make your "helping" time HOPE-inspiring in others.
Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned in
attempting to bring some HOPE to others, especially to strangers in need, is
that satisfying this goal is not a "one-shot" proposition.
Several years ago, when I became a weekly volunteer at
Runnells Hospital in neighboring Berkeley Heights, several of us visited mainly
on the first floor. The Hospital termed these patients
"sub-acute," because usually they were there for physical therapy
after knee or hip replacements. So, after about 4 or 5 weeks these
patients would be discharged home and we would not see them again. We
would have had some nice conversations, hopefully relieving some of the tedium
of a hospital stay, but at 20 or so minutes per chat each week, we were not
really doing much to instill HOPE. We would have needed time to build a
relationship in order for deeper conversations.
At some point, we discovered that a number of patients on
the first floor, for whatever reason, occupied rooms that would be theirs for
the rest of their lives! Some had outlived their families; others had
working families or children who lived some distance from Runnells, so their
visits to visit the family member at Runnells were infrequent and hectic.
We made a point of spending more time with these "long-term"
patients.
Gradually, some beautiful things began to happen. Not
only did the patients begin to tell us how much they looked forward to our
visits, but we discovered that under that thin guise of old age and infirmity,
they were interesting people, proud to share their feelings, frustrations and
hopes for the future.
These long-term relationships began developing several years
ago, and they have grown richer for all of us, as each year passes. Some
of our Runnells friends have died in the meanwhile, but it gives us a warm
feeling to recall many happy times with them, and the satisfaction of perhaps
having brought some HOPE to their final days. Often, it brought HOPE to
our lives as well.
The "seeding" of HOPE does not require one to be a
Runnells volunteer! But it does require intentional long-term effort ----
and not just one-shot conversations or one-shot charitable projects.
Interestingly it had also required long-term effort to bring such wonderful
HOPE to Haiti, as described earlier in this story.
The long-term "seeding" of HOPE in others is
usually an intentional act on our part. Sometimes we may feel a little
negativity about the first visit ---- "don't we have other things to do
instead of this," we wonder? If one passes this test, however, it
gets easier and easier to feel the personal satisfaction of "seeding"
HOPE in others.
Hopefully, you will bring some HOPE to others as we all try
to make the world an even better place ---- one person at a time.
It's your move!
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These thoughts are brought to you by the Adult Spiritual
Development Team at CPC, hoping to encourage your personal growth this summer.
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