Finding Joy in the Little Things

I'm enjoying my morning coffee by the fireplace today. It's where I begin most winter mornings. It snowed most of the day yesterday and a bit more last night. I looks beautiful outside, but it feels like 0 degrees (-18c) with the little bit of wind. 
The fireplace is a much better option than the deck.

Today's coffee mug is also a reminder of how nice it is not to have to travel cold, snowy conditions to get to work on this wintry morning.
Although the sun is shining today, the high temperature will still be well below the freezing mark. I'm not planning on making a trip into Springfield to work at the cold weather shelter, but I'm glad there are Springfield people that will be there -- both for the normal shelters and for the additional shelters that are opening during this especially cold period of time.

The shelter where I typically volunteer is open to pretty much anyone anyone. We accept both men and women, couple and singles, and we accept pets. Several of our overnight guests have told me that this particular shelter is the one that is a favorite for many of them and there is a bit of anxiety when it comes to signing up and getting assigned to this particular overnight place.
While I am grateful for all of the volunteers at all of the shelters, I am truly amazed by the gracious patience and love that is expressed by the volunteers that I work with directly. I am greatly disturbed that there is such a need in our community. At the same time, I am so impressed by the love and care that is shown by so many volunteers, allies, and donors to seeing that some of the needs of our friends are met each and every day.

Did you know that outside of the US and Great Britain homelessness as we know it really isn't an issue? While poverty certainly exists around the world, homelessness at this scale is somewhat unique to the US. I think it's mostly a cultural thing where other people are more connected to family and community than we are. Perhaps our capitalistic/win at all costs/always be competing attitudes have created an environment where we don't have the time nor the desire to take care of one another. We can't slow down from our quest to be the best and can't be the best if we help those that we perceive ourselves to be competing against.

I don't know how we came to this culture of needing to be better than our fellow humans. I understand the need to be better as in John becoming a better person, but I don't think that needs to mean John being better that anyone or everyone else.
A big part of the problem in a world where we compete against one another is that it is often easier to get ahead by putting (or keeping) others down than by just doing better for ourselves. In athletics we would call it poor sportsmanship. In business we seem to accept it as just doing what it takes to succeed. We don't have to be better than the competition if we eliminate the competition. 
Just as taunting, trash talking, and other forms of poor sportsmanship have become more a part of athletics today, once unethical practices in business, politics, and life in general are becoming more a part of who we are in our communities and culture here in the US. We only want what is best for our individual selves and aren't interested in what's best for our neighbors, our communities, or our country.

The cooperative efforts of the people that work together to bring comfort and care to the unsheltered community in Springfield give me hope. I find joy in partnering with them and truly love the people that we serve. I wish that more people (especially people in government) would realize how much better we all are when we all work together to meet the needs of the entire community.
Wouldn't that be a joyful feeling?

John