$64

This evening I went to an Interfaith prayer, worship, and support event in Boston. It was incredible being around lay leaders, civic leaders (including the Mayor of Boston and Governor of MA) and an array of religious / spiritually diverse leaders. The event was aimed at building awareness and raising funds for the people in Haiti. Prior to going, I did not know much about the event and only realized it was a fundraiser after I had already arrived. Without a check book, I gave what was in my pocket....$64. It felt great to give that money to a worthy cause and through an organization doing amazing and credible work (Partners In Health). However, I felt a bit empty doing so. I don't have a connection to the country of Haiti or to the people in that island country. If it had been Nepal or Qatar (places i've visited), I would have made much more of a purposeful effort to lend support. If the tragedy happened in Nicaragua (a place that I've lived and want to return to permanently), I would have potentially left the USA to travel down to Central America and worked in whatever capacity was needed. I'm sure I'll be sitting with the meaning behind the money for a little bit. Some questions it raises are: What will it go towards - was it enough / is there more that I can give - is there more that I can do - why have I waited almost two weeks and for an event to give funds? I'm sure more questions will come. I feel good supporting this cause, but I question-filled because the donation did not necessarily come from my authentic self.

This was an eye-opening event in that it gets me thinking about who and how I share / lend my time, talent, and treasure. Clearly the more connection I have, the more likely I want to be giving of myself and resources. So, at this moment, I find myself asking, how do we get to a place where we feel the connection with people and places we've never seen or heard of? How do we build that sense of compassion for the 'others' who seem so foreign and places so distant (literally and figuratively)? I'm not sure, except to open ourselves up - open our heads, open our hearts, and open our hands to every and all members of our global community....easier said than done, but the little reminders and simple actions will get us to a place where the 'other' is known and the distance decreases...