Gift of Time

Today, I watched 14 episodes of NBC's "Parks and Rec" with my family. This information will probably give you some insight into why my mind feels like a pile of unproductive mush right now, as well as why I had a little difficulty coming up with something to write about today. However, in the parts of my day not spent binge watching television, I also spent sometime considering volunteer opportunities that I want to join. These two things make me wonder about the true value of "my time."

As a part-time, low income earner who is passionate about justice in the world, I sometimes feel at a loss for what I can do to make an impact on the issues that I think are most critical at this time. Sometimes, it is not so difficult. Sometimes, it is just making the choice to stop using plastic bags and other efforts to reduce my personal waste. Other times, I am walking though a shoe store with my cousin and feeling just overwhelmed by the crushing meaninglessness of our consumption society and think how little an impact I make with my personal choices.

Volunteering is a way for me to organize with others so that we can amplify the impact of our personal choices. Shared caring creates a space for more people to join in. It can do something as simple as increasing viability for an issues or something as complex as organizing solutions to problems. No matter the degree of change a volunteer group seeks to make in the world, that change is possible because people come together to share their gifts, especially their time.

I cannot spend 24 hours a day, every day working on the projects that I believe will make our world a better place to live--partly because I need a paycheck (which I am fortunate to get from a source that I think is part of making a better world),  but also because SLEEP! Coordinating allows for services to be provided more broadly than individual kind hearts can manage. I do not have the resources or time to try to provide food for the hungry on a daily basis, but I can partner with other people to make that possible.

I know I am not telling the world anything it does not already know about volunteering. But, in the age of all day TV binges, I think it is important to remind ourselves that it does not take sacrifices of our entire lives--or even the almost entire day I wasted on TV--to make a difference. Joining with others, recognizing our role in and overcoming social problems takes just a little bit of time and it enriches all the other hours of our lives.