reminds me of The Giving Tree

Greetings! It's been a while, eh? I've been so busy having fun this summer that it's been a challenge to squeeze any work in -- hiking, camping, visiting friends, and taking on a few new volunteer opportunities. My son was home for two weeks, and is leaving early tomorrow morning for his new Coast Guard assignment in Hawaii. Blogging was low on my to-do list, and I simply haven't gotten around to it lately. I did make time to watch that awesome solar eclipse live online this evening, tho. I Y the Internet!!

Anyhoo ... today, as I read to my 95 year old friend from the August edition of Science of Mind magazine, I was moved to tears by the story of Nipun Mehta, the founder of an organization called CharityFocus. I'll paraphrase the article here, and in August at least some of the article will be available on the Science of Mind website. (I'm guessing the magazine is probably available on newsstands as well.)

Mehta was a young computer whiz in Silicon Valley, on the fast track to a successful career, when he realized that he felt unfulfilled. So he started CharityFocus, a nonprofit that matches volunteers with those in need of help. I don't want to botch the details, so instead I'll paste a little bit of copy from their website, and then shift away from facts and into the part of his philosophy that resonated so deeply with me. Please visit the CharityFocus site if you want to learn more.

CharityFocus is an all volunteer run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that endeavors to leverage technology for inspiring greater volunteerism and providing meaningful volunteer opportunities for all who want them -- no matter what their skills, how much time they have to give, where they are located, and what their interests. In the process, CharityFocus volunteers provide much-needed assistance to nonprofit organizations worldwide and create inspiring local events that manifest the spirit of service.

While I was moved by the accomplishments of his nonprofit, I was even more inspired by his personal philosophy. His mission and purpose in life are pretty straightforward. My interpretation of it is this: Just give, and everything else will take care of itself.

His focus is only on the joy and pleasure of giving, and never on the return. He literally lives to give, and does not operate from the conventional economic principle of exchange, or even trade, by requiring anything back from the recipient. He just gives. It's that simple. And somehow, it all works out in the end.

He created CharityFocus to give the rest of us the opportunity to experience this joy for ourselves by giving in individually meaningful ways.

(hey, I know why this sounds so familiar! I wrote a post about something like this awhile back: http://www.karenalonge.com/2008/10/give-something.html)

A few tidbits from the Science of Mind article that I loved:

When Mehta notices that funds are getting low, he "knows he needs to give more," so he digs deeper and finds something more to offer. And somehow, before the money well runs completely dry, the supply is always replenished.

When his mother was worried about his plans to take a walking pilgrimage in India, he left her with these instructions: Whenever you feel concerned that I won't have enough to eat, feed someone. Whenever you are worried that I won't have adequate shelter, take someone in.

So when she started fretting, she baked her tears into his favorite bread, naan, took warm steaming baskets of it out to the street, and fed strangers. And she felt better.

His solution to every problem, obstacle, or concern seems to be to give more. I really, really, REALLY like that.

Just give, and everything else will take care of itself. I know it's unconventional. But deep inside me, it simply feels natural and right and true.