A Little Altruism Talk.

It wasn’t all that long ago I wrote a post I personally still really enjoy:  I could have more money, but I wouldn’t be as rich.  It seems to ring truer and truer for me with every day.  I have been feeling deeply altruistic of late, and not just about animals as is normally the case for me.  I keep feeling the need to make my life mean something, and for me, that would preferably be a positive difference for others (human and furry alike.)  I want to be known as “a good person”.  Nothing more complicated, or deep than that; when people mention or think of me, I just want it to be with something like, “Yea, Morgan, she’s a good person” attached to the end of their thought.  This does not come from a place of vanity.  I just really want to make a positive difference in the world.  That simple.

When an email was sent around my office about “Adopting a Senior” my mind immediately jumped to senior animals (shocking, I know.)  The program was in fact, about senior humans, and not animals.  I decided to adopt not one, but two, seniors that live in my area that have no families of their own.  All the program requires of me is to buy a gift from their “wish list” and either drop it off or deliver it myself.  I’ve decided that these people are certainly not just lonely during the holidays so I have a few different ideas of ways to reach out and hopefully build a little bit of a relationship with them that can last beyond the holidays.  I’m also in the process (no joke, it’s seriously a whole process) of applying to the children’s hospital here.  I haven’t completely decided how I feel about that though, not because I am afraid of how sad it might be, but because it has strict requirements on how much time you must pledge and a minimum of a 6-month commitment.  I’m cautious to take on a hefty commitment because I am hoping for a big development with my rescue efforts in the near future.  I apologize for how vague that sounds, but I don’t want to jinx anything!  Cross my heart, hope to die, I will make the announcement so we can all celebrate together just as soon as I know things are a “Go.”

In addition to “adopting” the seniors, and applying to the children’s hospital, I also decided to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.  It’s a little-known organization that builds houses in low-income areas and provides mortgage assistance to qualifying buyers of said homes.  Have you heard of it?  Yea, I thought so.  I had always thought it seemed like so much fun to go and actually work.  To actually build something.  It’s no secret, I like physical labor and really getting my hands dirty.  I was so excited!  I arrived at 7:30 am on the dot, rocking my oldest jeans, and couldn’t wait to get started.  I was going to help build a house!

The crew arrived and once everyone was there the “foreman” gave us a mini orientation and off we went.  Sadly (for me at least) the house was mostly complete already and we were in charge of prepping and painting that day.  I volunteered to spackle the holes in the baseboards and as I got to work I started chatting with the woman that was spackling the door frames.  She was excited because she was a homebuyer and nearing the end of her required 300 hours of work.  It was so cool to interact with a real person, that was really benefiting from this program, and that really appreciated it.  I imagined her as the human version of a dog that was finally leaving the shelter and headed to a real home for the first time.  Pure and simple appreciation.

While my heart undoubtedly lies with animals in need, I also see the importance in helping out some two-leggers as well every now and then.  In a world caught up in the size of Kim Kardashian’s newest engagement ring, I think we could all benefit from ungluing our eyes from the television and going out and helping those that are less fortunate than us.  It makes you appreciate everything you have, and I for one, think we need more of that.