On the morning of Thanksgiving back in Boston Massachusetts, my sister woke me up to ask if I wanted to go with her to deliver turkey dinners from our hometown V.F.W. to those who are struggling in this difficult economy. Although the idea of gaining a few extra hours of beauty sleep seemed like an attractive choice at such an early hour, I knew it would have been very selfish of me to take the luxury of having a warm bed to sleep in for granted. We made our way to the V.F.W. in Hudson Ma and stood in line with dozens of selfless givers who were eager to help those in need.
My attributes of high efficiency as stated when I began the EBMS program were attitude, vision, and people. In terms of my attitude, I experienced a very drastic change from when I woke up to the time I was finished my last delivery. I was not yet in spirit of the holidays until I realized how great it felt to give back when I have been so fortunate in my life. You never know when you’ll be faced with a situation where you have to swallow your pride and ask for additional assistance in something so basic as needing a thanksgiving meal delivered to you. My vision was not clear when I woke up in the morning. I had never done this before and didn’t know what was going to be required of me. When I arrived at the V.F.W. however, I noticed through various conversations that more than half the volunteers were repeat volunteers from previous years. I realized that charitable work must become a more frequent and consistent aspect in my vision. I will do my best to be a repeat next Thanksgiving, and will also begin a tradition of delivering meals on Christmas day now as well. With people, this was probably the one of the most humbling experiences in my life. Those who my sister and I delivered to were clearly all very nice people who simply had a bad hand dealt to them in these times. To initially see the awkward faces of people accepting a charitable meal from complete strangers was somewhat disconcerting. However, with a cheery approach wishing them a “Happy Thanksgiving”, “Happy Holidays” and so on, they seemed to forget it was charity and opened up with bright smiles, which was very rewarding to my sister and I.
My attributes needing improvement as stated in my first month of the program were problem solving, creating positive change, and influence. An example of where I was able to solve a problem when delivering Thanksgiving meals was when one of the people my sister and I delivered to asked if we had delivered to their neighbor who had submitted a request. We did not have the neighbor on our list of deliveries, so I called the Amvets and made sure that the request was registered and that someone would be delivering their meal so that no one was forgotten on Thanksgiving. I don’t know if I necessarily created positive changes or influenced anyone else by delivering these meals. However, this experience absolutely influenced and created positive changes within my sister and I. I am much more conscious of my duty to give back now. Waking up early on Thanksgiving and Christmas to embrace the true meaning behind these holidays is truly humbling. Losing a few hours of sleep is well worth putting a smile on someone’s face that you may one day need to assist you should fate reverse your roles.
Overall, delivering meals on the holidays or engaging in any charitable work in general has made me more grateful for all the opportunities and amenities that I have been fortunate enough to receive in my life. I truly feel that the more you have been given, the bigger your duty is to give back. Success, wealth and happiness are not to be hoarded and kept to yourself, because it isn’t until you are able to share this with others that you become truly successful, wealthy and happy. I was able to get a taste of sharing this with others on Thanksgiving and I may now be hooked on this feeling for life.
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