Have you ever had the experience of seemingly unrelated events happening over a very short period of time ... followed by a moment that could only be described as an epiphany which seems to bring all the unrelated events together? It seems as though I've been living one of these experiences over the past few days.
First there was the man who appeared at the door not once, not twice, not even three times but four times in the space of as many days to ask for a room at one of the local shelters. There's a policy in place (which the guests at my door seem to have figured out long before I do) whereby I'm supposed to check identification and then present a chit which in turn is presented to the administration of the local shelter and the person in need is provided with a bed and a meal. Sounds simple enough, but after seeing the same person show up for four days running, this soul starts to wonder whether 'tis truly divine work that's being done or whether someone's getting duped.
A second candidate also showed up a few days ago, who admitted that he had been here asking for shelter on a few occasions, but wondering (quite innocently to the eye of the casual onlooker) whether we would possibly be able to help for the next couple of days. I'm supposed to help the poor, the disenfranchied and the downtrodden, so barring a very good excuse or a gut feeling that I'm being used, I usually will respond in a suitable fashion. However, there's still a part of me that is wondering who'se getting the better end of the stick.
Living the values one preaches is not always easy. Life sends so many opportunities our way sometimes that we have to get choosy about which ones we respond to and which ones it's better to ignore. The problem is that we can get so caught up in the decision that the doing gets left behind. That's often when the little voice of conscience or balance seems to scream within me for attention, and if I don't listen, it just keeps screaming, or showing up under different guises.
Was it yesterday or today that I was flipping through either a magazine while waiting for an appointment or glancing at a periodical of some sort and the image of Mother Teresa popped up. Instantly the images of the thousands who must have surrounded her came to mind, and the words she spoke with such conviction, 'I can do small things with great love' kept playing in my head.
When all is said and done, and we slow down long enough to listen to the small voice that speaks within, is this not the same message we often hear? For many of us, save the ones who are in positions of great power and influence, it is not possible to move mountains at a whim, but all of us can do small gestures of kindness, all of us can do little things, and do them with great love. Getting back to basics is what it's all about, and learning that life is all about doing good in small doses while trying our best to love the ones who will benefit from our kindnesses.
1 comment:
The other day I too came across (and I can't remember where) a little snippet about Mother Teresa. It said she had a sign just inside her door that was addressed to all priests. It said "Celebrate each Mass as if it was your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass". I'm not a priest but I try to remember that at every Mass I go to. Mother Teresa had a way of putting a lot of things into the right perspective.
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