Janese Johnson

In every nonprofit organization, you will see the devoted and diligent volunteer who is working extra-hard for the cause that they believe in. Some people look at them and wonder, how could someone have so much drive and do so much; they are just so amazing. Then they comment that they themselves could not do any more than what their life is already giving them, which is a full plate.

I have often seen and experienced, however, that when we volunteer for something that we truly believe in, we get an “extra” boost of energy to help us be able to do more. The more that we give, the more we energy we seem to get back from it.

This actually has been found to be true in many areas of our life. The more love we give to others, the more love we have in our life. The “law of abundance” is big on this thinking too. It states that by giving a percentage of your income to charity, the more abundance you are opening yourself to. I have particularly seen this in my life with my attitude. When I feel loving, generous, kind and friendly, the world seems to respond with a kindness that doesn’t happen during the times that I am feeling lacking and isolated.
If you think this sounds like lala-land thinking, then it would be great for you to experiment with this. Experiencing the difference is far more important than listening to someone tell you their concept about their view of the world.

Many people are saying that they want to see serious change in the world. We are seeing economic, environmental, humanitarian, and social problems across the board. Sometimes there are so many areas to focus on that it is easy to get overwhelmed by the many problems that we are facing today, and not do anything. But if everyone did a little something “extra” to help the bigger picture, then change could happen. Gandhi said, “You must be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

There is a lot of talk about change in the political arena, and many are feeling excited and hopeful about change — but change cannot really happen in a large and powerful way without the efforts of many working together for it. We cannot rely on a politician to come in and make the changes that we desire. It certainly would be wonderful to have someone come in and make everything better, but we have dug a hole so deep that it seems the only way out is for us to grab our “tools” and start climbing our way out of this bureaucratic mess.

Unfortunately, the same mentality of wanting one person to change everything is the mentality that is driving the enthusiastic volunteers into a quick-burnout-and-quit mode. We cannot afford as a culture to put so much responsibility onto a handful of leaders. If we truly want to see the change that we desire, then we all need to jump on ship. There are so many ways of helping others that no one gets left out.

Find your interest and go after it. If you are passionate about the environment, animals, human rights, politics, economics, mental health, children, elderly, health care, or many of the other areas that I am leaving out, there are plenty of organizations that can use your help. A small gift of time can change the course of someone’s life forever. There are as many ways to give as there are causes. Find what works best for your nature, and help out.

The energy boost that you will get to go the extra mile can have a greater impact on those around you than you realize. I know when I was a foster parent, and we were getting kids in and out all the time, people asked me how I could do it. I felt so “on purpose” about helping the children that I didn’t even think about how tired I was. What mattered for me was that the children who were abused and neglected had a safe haven, even if it was only for a moment of their life.

The burnout for me came when there were more children to place than foster parents, and we got overloaded and overwhelmed with little help from others. Fortunately I was able to rejuvenate myself, and get back in with a new focus, and the energy came right back in.

For the sake of the bigger picture, and for the ones who are fighting for change, please consider this quote from Sri Madhava Ashish (1920-1997) of the Theosophical Society: “Freedom lies only in our innate capacity to choose between different sorts of bondage; bondage to desire or self regard, or bondage to the light that lightens all our lives.”
•
Janese Johnson has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more than 20 years. She may be contacted at janesej-at-buncombe.main.nc.us.