Over the
years as well as being blessed with some
wonderful work in my everyday with helping
those who are ready to change, step outside
the comfort zone in life and review their
inner thinking, I have become a "Serial
Volunteer", especially in working with young
people.
Over the last 4
years I have given nearly a month of my time
during late July and August to help in
supporting a residential holiday project for
young people aged 8 to 13, where I have
driven a minibus from place to place and
shared an abundance of laughter (and
experience) along the way. Although it's
always 24/7 hands on and hard work, it's
also brilliant fun, very enjoyable, and I
have gathered a wealth of golden memories to
remember, which always make me smile. It's
also a great way to meet like minded people.
I also meet with some our of local teenagers
in Peterborough for inspirational evening
talks, and on Christmas Day for the last 9
years I have been with the Salvation Army
helping to share a little light hearted
company and conversation, and serve a
festive meal to those who would normally be
by themselves on Christmas Day.
I thought I'd
amuse you with a story from last Summer's
young people's project. There are of
course several amusing stories I could tell,
and I feel really blessed as each experience
has given me more understanding, but this is
the one that made me think quite deeply
about the consequence of every action ...
"WWVS"
I arrived back
at base one afternoon after a programme of
events and found this fabulous artwork on
the fridge door which really made me laugh -
the "WWVS" stands for "What would Vanessa
say?" - haha!! You may remember we had a
wonderful warm summer and I was encouraging
everyone to drink as much water as they
could as I have been greatly influenced by
Dr Batmanghelidj's book "The Bodies Many
Cries for Water", in which he shares his
belief that the biggest problem with human
health is severe dehydration. I was doing as
he directed and when young people were
complaining of discomforts such as headaches
or leg cramps I just sat with them and asked
them to drink 2 glasses of water. As they
were doing this I'd give some hand
reflexology and listen to whatever issues
were happening in their lives, and within
minutes they would run off as if nothing had
happened - RESULT! One of the young lads was
particularly astounded and said - "WOW - how
did you do that - I want to do that when I
get older!" and a couple of days later I
overheard him tell the other boys in his
group it was the "Power of Love"! How FAB is
this?
This amazing
artwork reminded me of the empowering effect
of words and during the last few months in
general conversation I have heard a lot of
people say something like: I thought to
myself "What would Vanessa say?", so these
gentle reminders have inspired me to
consider even more the importance of
listening carefully to everything that
others are saying and lacing every word and
action of my own with plentiful supplies of
love and gentleness. Ultimately we have two
ears and one mouth which is perhaps a
physical reminder to listen twice as much as
we speak. This message to me was another
gift of understanding that came through
giving, and a reminder that the best way to
help yourself is to help others, wherever
you are drawn to be in life.
It's really
great that volunteering seems to be trending
these days with many people helping others
with different projects in various ways. I
recommend taking advantage of any
opportunities which may present themselves
as I believe whatever we give with love and
unconditionally comes back to us in
unlimited ways, and the satisfaction and
fulfilment of helping out and sharing an
abundance of happiness and smiles is super
rewarding. Be a "Yes" person and have fun**
Vandaeh Works
