The universal switchboard is lighting up and I’m taking a lot of calls.
The message came through quickly, as they do, you just have to pay attention. I happened to hear it. It said, give an hour of help toward someone. Don’t hesitate. Act on this.
Need help? I’ll give you an hour. Sign up with me directly. It’s my help-a-friend clinic, sponsored by me, but anyone can do it.
Even you.
You have an hour to spare, so give it away! You can get more done than you might think in one hour. If an hour sounds impossible, cut it in half, give 30 minutes.
I tried it out on a friend. She needed help with overflowing blackberries. I thought about it. I knew I could make a lot happen in an hour with my hand tools. So I said, I’ll come by and clip your blackberries, and she said, really? And I said yes and so it was- and we visited and worked together in a soft rain for about an hour and got a lot done and felt happy.
It was like we took zoloft but with no side effects and we felt hopeful. Ok, it was nothing like zoloft. It was a lot better.
What can you offer? Wrap a package to mail; sew a button; walk a person; fill out a form; wash a car; rake leaves; stack wood; fact check; untie knots; pot a plant; listen to a story; organize a pantry…
Let the receiver choose and you decide if you are ok with it.
We need to build our helping muscles and this practice makes it easy.
Make a call now, or a text and offer to help someone for an hour.
Upon completion, you must tell me about it.
[Photos of people helping people were taken at the Fix-it-Fair at the Amazon Community Center in Eugene, Oregon].
The man fixing the bicycle at the fix-it fair is very most likely my son-in-law… he cleaned and oiled my chain last weekend, and I take care of his son (my grandson) very often. It’s not a trade exactly, but mutually satisfying anyway.