It isn't as cryptic or sinister as it sounds. In fact, it's bigger and brighter. I am a volunteer at the ministry that serves the poor, hungry and homeless people. What was once used as a crypt in the church has been cleared and for the last 77 years, it has been providing shelter and food for those who are most vulnerable and are in need of the basic things we take for granted.
The clients, as the staff and volunteers call them, are actually quite a diverse lot of people. And most of them are harmless. They just want to be fed, respected and heard. This is where the crypt comes in. Just being there for one afternoon a week has really humbled me.
Many of these people live rather aimless lives. They live from day to day and find company and solace in their 'brothers' and 'sisters'. I haven't heard their sad stories yet, as to how each of them ended up in their current states. But I reckon some of them are where they are as a consequence of their folly while some of them are where they are because they are no longer respected or loved by those nearest and dearest to them. Each of them has a story to tell. Each of them has the right to be respected and loved regardless of their background and who they are.
Some of them just sit in the social hall, waiting for the day to go by, as marked by meal times, while some of them spend it more productively by reading and some just chatting with others. It is heartening to see that some of them have dreams and ideals they are waiting to live for while some of them have just given up on life completely.
Me? I don't think I can change the world. But I think that for as long as I'm blessed, people around me, near or distant, deserve that portion of blessing too. Sometimes, we only learn to live and love when we forget ourselves. Is it very cryptic? Well, I have an entire lifetime to find that out if I am capable of that. And I am learning, by being a blessing, even if I'm tucked away, in the crypt.
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Aside: So I was at The Beatles Museum in Liverpool a couple of weekends ago. And across the universe, the sounds of one of the greatest bands ever was broadcast to this galaxy and even beyond. I love this song - it makes me feel happy....the feeling of cycling in the open with the breeze in my face and me going 'here comes the sun...doo doo doo doo'
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