Getting Things Done

You go to work and face another day of tasks, projects and long term goals yet unaddressed. The workload seems unbearable at times. The same looms over you at home at the end of the day.

Home front duties vary by gender (alas!). Females have cooking, laundry, cleaning and child care high on their list of things to do. Males have bills, home project planning, auto maintenance, and home maintenance issues to plan, balance and budget for.

Pressure is more on the single person – with or without kids – but with kids the pressure is magnified. Mostly this falls on females in our society, but increasingly, males are ramping up their presence in this arena these days.

To escape all of the above we sit calmly (!) in our chairs in front of the TV to catch up on the day’s news. Bad decision! The news reports mostly negative topics, and many are based on political realities and hostilities. Worse: both national and state governments appear to be unable to get much done due to bickering and drop dead rivalries.

To actually acquire some calm, we turn off the TV. The audio system is switched on for familiar music. Then we read the mail and chat with the family. Something – anything, to capture a breath of relaxation. But beware: reading the mail is most likely going to add to the to-do list!

Okay. We live in fractious times that keep large swaths of public life unproductive. The image alone weighs on us. Wondering what will happen and how it will affect us is part of that weight we feel. But a lot of other things are getting done. Think about it: trains run, buses, too, and planes. Highways are bustling with traffic except in rush hour – jammed but hardly bustling. Our employers are getting things done and the balance sheet remains mostly healthy. Our homes, too, are functioning well in spite of all the challenges and competition with external demands. We get things done. We get along with one another.

In quiet times we ponder important matters that need attention. In most of these arenas tasks are created and accomplished. Feed My Hungry Children continues to pour out packaged meals for kids throughout the region, by the thousands of meals. Homeless shelters are set up and supervised by volunteers. Soup kitchens are opened and feed tens of thousands of people in most metro areas in the US. Needy families get a helping hand to pay rent or utilities, or simply buy food. Elders are driven to doctors and clinics and hospitals for care and tests.

School children are tutored. After school programs are invented and staffed by volunteers or non-profit agencies. Entire school systems of the private nature are developed and become home to low income children.

Businesses are counseled, mentored and nurtured toward success for free by many organizations. New jobs are created by newly formed businesses; many jobs are preserved by helping a failing small business right itself and go on to success.

Churches and helping-hand agencies throughout the nation are abuzz with activity reaching out to communities, households and individuals providing them with countless acts of charity, love and hope.

Not any of these is reliant on government really; no, all are reliant on the presence and energy of volunteers. Were you aware that non-profit organizations support about 13% of all labor in the US? Education, medical care, arts, museums, music ensembles, dance groups, sports programs and nutrition work is performed by volunteer entities. Of course some of those people are supported by paid staff, but the work that makes other good works happen is made possible in this manner.

Walk outside your home and observe your neighborhood. How much of your surroundings are cared for and made possible by non-profit organizations?  How many non-profits do you regularly interact with yourself, volunteering your expertise and energy?

Yes, a lot is being done and accomplished everyday. If you talk with others about this subject, you will learn what they are doing to make our community, state, region and nation better. This is a people power thing. We the people make our nation work and succeed. It is a very basic positive aspect of America. The land of the free, brave – and volunteer!

I hope you are able to feel a renewed sense of calm knowing this. Better yet, join the efforts to gather more calm unto yourself.  Enjoy!

July 14, 2017