Soup, salad and altruism

I had lunch with someone delightful today and the subject of volunteerism came up. I've decided to give some of my time and I'm in the process of choosing what and where. She and her husband are wonderfully altruistic, so it became clear to me that she had crossed my path this week for good reason.

She gave me the name of an organization I hadn't heard of, so I took a look at its website and I must say I'm intrigued. I immediately penciled into my daily planner an information evening it holds in Manhattan for potential volunteers and I'm excited at having taken that first step.

Volunteerism is a little bit tricky, isn't it? While the purpose is clearly to give, there are so many questions to ask oneself. How much time can you realistically give? Do you want to interact with people or stay behind the scenes? Do you have the kind of strength it takes to be around deeply under-privileged or sick people? Which skills do you want to utilize and/or share?

It's refreshing to pause and assess oneself in this way. It takes you out of the swirl of work and errands and day-to-day banality and puts you squarely in a pure place.

A big, fat thank you to the universe for showing this to me right now.