For me, this new year has dawned full of happiness and exciting possibilities. I am acutely aware of how lucky I am to be here in California, enjoying a high-quality of family life with healthy children -- things that eluded us during our New Jersey years. I feel a joy so deep that the little things that used to wreck my days (such as still being awakened every night by a toddler) don't matter so much anymore, as the big things are under control. And the big things -- having healthy kids, the Guv being happy in his working world, my fulfillment through hobbies and friends -- those are what matter. We've found some good karma here in CA, and I'd like to keep it coming.
To that end, every single day I stop in my tracks at some point to hear the message of Luke 12:48: "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." Sometimes, when I think of that phrase, it is hard not to crumple to the ground and cry for joy because of how happy and well we all are right now -- much has been given to us, indeed. I am close enough to the time in my life when things weren't this way -- those endless drives to and from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to figure out why Dash was so sick and so little, for example -- when it strikes my heart keenly and sharply that we have emerged victorious from a very dark time. And every time I have that realization, I also realize that not everyone is so fortunate.
So how, then, can I put my good karma to use to balance out some of the bad karma in the world? Especially now, when the economy has hit so many so hard, there must be a way for me to reach out my hand to someone who is not in the same, good place and say, "I can help." Our family has long supported domestic charities like Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army, but I find that writing a check -- even to a fabulous organization -- isn't the same as giving a little of myself to a cause. And here in Silicon Valley, the causes of homelessness and hunger, at least, are very much in my face every day. I remain shocked, in the land of Jobs/Page/Brin, that the homeless have to be on the streets at all. Nine churches in Palo Alto spend nine months of each year in rotation, each opening their parish halls in the evenings for homeless meals and night sleeping for one month -- so, aside from summer, there is a relatively safe space for these folks, but they are still here and in increasing numbers. I'm one of those strange folks that doesn't isn't afraid of or disgusted by the homeless, though; I just feel sad for them. Perhaps some of these folks need medical or psychiatric treatment that they're not getting. Perhaps some of these folks served our country and, as vets, are due something greater than an itinerant, uncertain life. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. At the end of the day, just because I am educated and live in a house doesn't mean that I am more American or more a child of God than someone who has no home; indeed, the lesson of the Christ in whom I believe is that the "least of his brethren" should be cared for as we would care for Him.
It would be highly unacceptable to me for my children to grow up here in this Golden State (and believe me, here in Silicon Valley, sometimes it does indeed feel like the streets are paved with gold!) without being sensitive to the haves and have-nots of this world. I want them to know how good they have it. No, I don't want them to feel bad about having a home or "stuff" or food -- but I don't want them thinking that those who lack those things are somehow "less than." Above all, I want them to have empathy, and I want that empathy to be bias for action. And If I want that for them, then I had better set a darned good example.
To that end, the Guv and I are hatching a project to do something about the many needs our own backyard on a larger scale; we plan to answer Obama's call to national service (though, lest anyone should worry, from within the confines of our current jobs and life). Until then, we're doing some smaller scale things. We just signed up to sponsor a family living in rural poverty through The Box Project. Family to family, we can make a difference.
At the end of the day, I hope that someone someday can say about me that I gave more to this world than I took from it. And hey, maybe by giving, I can keep the good karma coming; indeed, if "to whom much is given, much is required" is not karma, I don't know what is.
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