| In
my family of origin there was no such thing as spirituality;
morals and ethics were crucial and constantly discussed, sometimes
hotly debated. I am a third generation atheist who came to
Unitarianism some thirty years ago as a compromise between the
nihilism of my family and the United
Church beliefs of my wife.
I
always got involved in the discussion groups under the auspices of
Religious Education and this culminated for me at EAGLES where I
was introduced to the Platinum Rule: Do unto others as they would
have you do unto them. The significant difference is the focus on
the OTHER.
I
retired from the military after a 22 year career which left me
with a revulsion of bureaucracy and a strong desire for hands-on
experience, where one sees a project finished. As a result I
started a renovation/construction company. On September 11 I was
building a deck at Tobermory.
It
all came together for me when I found Richard Kirshes material
regarding Construction Expeditions to Honduras:
it was doing needed work, focused on Other;
I had the time, skills and inclination.
When
I returned, I experienced intense culture shock. I was overwhelmed
by all we take for granted everything we have so much of. A friend
challenged me on the topic: You’ve seen Third
World conditions before, why is this so intense? After
considerable introspection, I realized witnessing the campesinos
in Honduras has destroyed one of my family myths – the myth that
we were poor. Most of us in Canada have little understanding of
what the term truly means; the conditions in Honduras take to a
significantly different level the term "dirt poor".
And my
ultimate reaction is an echo of the words of Edward Everett Hale:
I
am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still
I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not
refuse to do the something that
I can do.
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