Be the Ball

There are all sorts of statistics that show I am in the top percentage in the world for having stuff I need for a pleasant existence.  I have a roof over my head, food on the table, security, a government that holds close to the ideals I have and allows me freedom.
I am incredibly grateful for what I have.  I do not take it for granted and know it could all disappear in an instance. (In Ukraine they went to the soccer one night and were at war the next day.  In LA they went to bed having beautiful homes and 24 hours later they were homeless.)
So I realize that and as someone said to me that gave me a stamp collection “hold them loosely.”  If the truth be known what I have I work for and do all I know to do, but it does not alter the fact that it could all be gone in an instant.
Having said that I know that all of us need a hand at times.  I do not want my resources to be squandered.  In helping others unwisely, I could so easily become someone who has nothing and needs assistance.  While helpful my help could end up being but a tiny blip in the overall need. It reminds me of “give a man a fish and feed him for a day or teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”
But I saw this morning that it is not as complicated as I can make it.  Everyday I come across strangers that just want someone to take an interest in them.  In some ways that is probably more the case than it has ever been.  They say this generation is the most disconnected ever (despite appearing to be the most connected ever).  Tools to connect have never been more prolific.  Actual connections have never been scarcer.
Volunteering at a Market has enabled me to see that more and more there are middle class poor.  I’m fighting a loosing battle saying we don’t take cloths but when we put them on the table as freebies, that proves to be an incredibly popular table.  One girl tried something on and loved that they could wear something really nice another did not need as they had so many.  After getting his mum's ok, we gave away a football to a kid and it was like his most precious possession.
The bottom line for me is that I do not need to be monetarily rich to help another.  I just need to be rich in caring.  People want someone to talk to and need to know others care.  Helping is really something everyone can do.  I need it.  You need it.  I have found there is no faster way to get it than to give it.