Returning and Reflections

We are currently preparing to depart from New Orleans and head back to Denver. The shuffle round is over and we all are going to return to our original teams. I enjoyed working with this wonderful group of people. As we pack our things and clean our places we get to reflect on what we have done here and the people we have met. Though our team’s impact is only a small part of the overall effort toward recovery, I think what mattered most was that we showed up and joined the volunteers who let those of the lower nine know that there are still people willing to work for the betterment of their neighborhood.

The spirit of Lowernine.org is one of caring and camaraderie. There is no way to escape the smiles and enthusiasm of people here. It is sad that we only had four weeks and some times even less, depending on how long the volunteers stayed, to get to know some of the people here.

One of the more meaningful things that I got to do was work with the children during the summer camp. They were pure in their motivations and even when they were being bad it was more about getting attention. I had fun drawing similarities in how children would interact and fight with each other and how the major societies and global communities interact; petty squabbles, silly needs, not wanting to clean up after themselves, and always wanting payback.

Our last Monday at lowernine.org.

I was also able to spend time working with my hands in the construction efforts, the process of repairing is tedious but working with Darren was something else. I know we already did a post on him but some things we left out was that his pace is at champion speed, and he knows how to do everything. He never got impatient or angry either. It was like there was no individual task; it even felt like the overall objective was overlooked, all there was was work, the steady persistent output of energy. This to me is the height of honor. It reflects in the lightness of heart during the off hours when he is a true clown.

As I move on to the next project and then forward with my life, I will take from this experience the nature of service, the meaning of caring, and I will pursue personal purification so that I can better serve in the future.

~Alex (Earth Two)