Sinking, or Floating

Today, I applied to be a volunteer with the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross. It was a lengthy application process, but I felt something stir inside of me as I was filling it out. Although it's not paid work, which is what I'm looking for, and may not look as great on a resume as, say, an internship, I'm feeling incredibly content. This is a forgotten feeling; it has brought me out of myself, made me an onlooker evaluating the person I've sunk into this past week.

And then I thought, what reason do I have to be discontent with life? I often gaze at my petty problems through the wrong side of the binoculars when the reality is, I am incredibly blessed. I have so much for which to be grateful, compared to others in my community who have so little. If my greatest personal worry is finding a part-time, seasonal job for some extra spending money, I can absolutely help those who don't have a home because it burned down, or flooded, or was ravaged by an earthquake. At the very least, I can be there for them.

I can tell this is going to be a great summer. Whether or not I get a job (don't worry, I'm not giving up just yet!), I'm going to do volunteer work whenever the opportunity arises, in whatever capacity I'm needed. And to think... I was convinced this summer couldn't possibly live up to the previous two. No more sinking for me.

"Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves."
— Gordon B. Hinckley