Step Up on Second Writers' Anthology

Heeding the Spirit’s Call
By Alan Evans

In 1982, I came home from work and whined about my job. My wife Jeanine listened up to a point, then told me, “Go down to the convalescent home on the corner. Talk to three of the residents there. Then come back and tell me about your big problems.”

I did as she recommended. At the nursing home I met an elderly gentlemen named Dave. He showed me an Airstream RV sitting in the parking lot. He had hoped to spend his retirement traveling across our country, but instead, his family put him in the home and the keys to his RV were kept locked up by the staff.

My heart went out to Dave. We went to the community room where I sat at the piano and began playing Those Were the Days, the theme song from All in the Family. Dave gasped, “How’d you know? That’s my favorite song!” We sang it together three times before I had to leave my new friend. I never believed this incident was a mere coincidence. It was the spirit of life at work. I was lucky enough to be in a position to respond to its gentle nudge.

I went on to do volunteer work at SAVE (Seek and Visit Elderly), leading sing-alongs at local convalescent homes for over a year and a half. Once it ran its course, I remarked to Jeanine what great serendipity had allowed this volunteer activity to happen. She deadpanned, “That wasn’t serendipity; that was the spirit of the world.” Again, I had been blessed by taking part in what was presented, and in this case, loving every minute of it.

I no longer balk at, but relish, the moments I can heed the spirit’s call. Earlier this year, I was exactly where the spirit wanted me: at 26th and Santa Monica Blvd. A woman in a wheelchair was trying to push herself up the curb. I pushed her six blocks to her doctor’s appointment. Judging from her struggle, I probably saved her hours in reaching her destination. That was no coincidence.

It was also no coincidence that after twenty years of trying, I never achieved sobriety until I decided to put others’ cares before my own.

I’ve learned that the successful journey inward requires meaningful action aimed outward. Whenever I volunteer to help others I see my own troubles in greater perspective. My chest wells up with gratitude, my own problems seem trite, and I can funnel my energies for the benefit of others.

Positive energy is contagious. I see this most clearly when I tutor people. Sometimes their eyes sparkle as they realize that learning is not about struggle, but wondrous discovery.

I work with a theatre company that caters to people on skid row and offers positive options to those at risk. What I’ve found is that service to others is like making music—it is its own reward.

I urge everyone to take part in volunteer work. You may find, as I did, that life’s true meaning is as much about engendering gratitude in others’ hearts, as it is in your own. And that’s no coincidence.

Back to Brainstorm