Meals on Wheels

Greatly reluctant, after all I did have lots of things to get done today, I agreed to deliver meals on wheels with my wife to the people in the community. Arguing with myself about joining her, I finally admitted that I did not really want to see where the people lived. Not that I am unaware of the poverty that surrounds us, at the same time, I prefer to be charitable from a distance. This is not due to fear nor guilt, but rather to some sort of obsessive compulsive disorder related to germs and dirty conditions. To combat this problem, she actually delivered the meals while I stayed in the car. Yes, I know it is selfish of me to make her do the work while I had the easy job but, in a way, it was a victory for me to be there at all.

The last several years have become full of career building opportunities including taking doctoral classes in business, investing, performing, developing knowledge in accounting, and studying financial statements. Recent disappointments, however, in how my career has stagnated have contributed to some potential depression and, consequently, further self-reflection. Combating my tendency for self-absorption, I continue to exercise regularly, practice my horn, pray, and find ways to share extra resources with others. What I forgot, however, is that doing for others is the cure for most selfish ailments.

Time to extricate the selfishness and use my abilities for others rather than serving my own needs all the time. Today was a lesson of giving and one that I intellectually have known for many years but have avoided in practice at times. It felt good to be a part of service to those less fortunate. To those without resources, to those recovering from surgery or who cannot drive or cannot afford a car. Meals on Wheels runs like a well oiled machine with all components in place. Within 5 minutes of our arrival at the main center, we had our meals in the car and we headed out to the 11 different homes. Some of the domiciles were neat and clean with obvious attention to detail while others were crumbling, dirty, and pitiful. Most of the people owned dogs--something I do not fully understand I'll admit, and most of the people were unable to work for various reasons.

Each recipient must meet the qualifications for a meal and most of them do pay something for the service. The deliverers of the meals are volunteers and they drive all over the city each day. The organization is superior and the system for mapping, meeting dietary restrictions, and supplying a well-balanced but healthy meal is actually tremendous. I have rarely seen a business operating as well and the management of the program is as fine a system as I have ever encountered. The volunteers are generously giving of their time and I heard no complaints from anyone. The recipients were all grateful for their meal and I felt that odd sense of satisfaction that one receives from helping others.

No doubt I need to do more and next time I will actually walk up to the door to deliver. But at least today was a start. Thanks to my wife for the reminder and thanks to Meals on Wheels for its remarkable commitment to making a difference in lives.