Inspiration

In life’s endeavors, emotion invades, surrounds the human psyche unnoticed, or bubbles up unexpectedly into an individual’s consciousness as it courses the body’s arteries, nerves, and muscles. Five volunteer workdays on an Appalachia Service Project (ASP) trip is an immersion into one hundred and twenty consecutive hours that includes necessary sleep, a miniscule time span when counting either earth revolutions or an adult’s accumulated heartbeats.

The frailty of words challenges the mind to elevate from the week five words to define and/or memorialize either the ephemeral or the mind’s forever altered synapses. These five words, not matched to individual or specific days, float free within this volunteer’s subconscious, always welcome to pop into the stream of consciousness at any time.

JOY. First experienced in the smile of an awaiting family who, like the volunteers, shield the nervousness of unknown expectations with a shawl of faith. The unbridled joy of a four-year-old, who drags a youth volunteer by the hand to a trampoline, highlights why shared human caring becomes infectious. While a scarred wooden home joist crumbled by insidious water courts disaster, a sistered plank brings reinvigorated strength. The only requirement necessary is the application of a strong bond to unite the two.

EMPATHY. While one definition of this word envisions sympathy, to stop there fails to harvest the word’s bedrock emotion. During the five days, the foundational underpinning of empathy that pours forth is understanding. An appreciation that the volunteer and the family stand equal. If not on a superficial par in material possessions, then definitely equal as human beings filled with emotion. Corn stalks grow in the family’s Appalachian garden. Row upon row of field corn swayed in the rearview mirror of eastbound Iowa volunteers. The corn stalks and maturing ears flourish miles apart in different soil with similar nutrients not visible to the human eye.

SOUL SEARCHING. Yes, it’s two words, not the earlier promised one. Count the double S as one. A search can be a multiplicity of things. Here it’s the emotional renaissance, perhaps inspired by history’s great artistic masters, but, even if not, still felt and encapsulated in uniquely personal ways. It’s the never-ending question: Is there a path, perhaps less traveled, to greater happiness. If so, the quest blurs when a sawed board fits into its envisioned space, a drill bit does not jump off the head of a screw, or the last piece of vinyl plank flooring locks into place. Only late at night, when closed eyelids and night leave but shadowy outlines, does the mind relive the day’s activities and the power of rest becomes a pedestal to raise up the gift engendered by the fruits of labor engaged in for the benefit others. If not the final, or only search, the soul rests peaceful, emboldened to begin a fresh journey on a new day.

UPLIFTING. When day blares into reality, either by an operatic aria or the rhyming stanzas of modern-day rap, the body experiences an emotional surge to match the physical standing. A midweek positivity courses through sluggish veins to undergird aching muscles. The teardrop visible on a homeowner’s sixty-six-year-old cheek does not well forth out of sadness, but unadulterated bliss. The glistening radiance blots out volunteer fatigue. It invigorates a greater effort, not to cause distress, but to complete the physical tasks undone. When the homeowner’s adult son asks to help, it’s not because any volunteer is a failure, but because the son wishes to join in the pride that permeates the work site. As a volunteer, you hand the son your impact drill for the son has given the greatest gift. He and you share the yoke of life and your coupled acts simultaneously unleash a tide of shared emotion that uplifts all.

SACRIFICE. Do the five days represent or bring sacrifice? Yes. A volunteer’s knee blister can hurt before it heals. The Appalachian sun saps the body of fluids and vitality. While sacrifice can be a cost, it stands taller and stronger as a welcomed offering. A family’s trepidation of stranger footfalls on living room carpet vanish after day two. A volunteer adds no household cash nor even spies an oaken collection plate. Smiles beget exchanged handshakes. Association explains and broadens cultural understanding. These outward manifestations validate the growth and melding of human compassion and stewardship. Although the family and volunteer separate at week’s end, the enduring affinity is that each will cherish a heart and a soul that brims with warmth and unquantified emotion.

In summary, philosophers and poets can theorize on how and where positive and sustaining human emotion originates. After five days as a volunteer, a personal guess. String together into one word the first letter from each of the five boldface words set forth above.

Copyright Donan Berg 2017

Copyright DOTDON Books 2017

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