Not A Tree Post but totally worth sacrificing one tree story for... ;)
I realised I have a capacity of one blog per day only :P so since today I was trying to capture my volunteer experience with YFS in words I didn't have enough brain power left to write a tree story as well. So I am sharing this one instead...in some ways it's more apt than any other post I could have done today!! Read on!!
"It was Serendipity. Getting in touch with YFS, volunteering with YFS for an event, becoming a permanent fixture in YFS, everything! All of it started on just a whim to attend volunteer orientation session for the National Volunteer Week 2015. What started after that was no less than a roller coaster ride with countless hours spent volunteering in slums, government schools, organizing events and those weekly meetings at Patel Nagar office. What began as a day of volunteering soon took over and before I realised became an integral part my life. YFS silently slipped into my life at the time when I had lost all direction and became an anchor for my lost self for a long time.
Once a wise person told me that man has forgotten to be a human being instead he has become 'human doing'. Doing endless things without feeling, thinking, processing and learning from his actions. This volunteering for the first time in my 20 years on earth as a human finally made me realise what human being actually means. I came face to face with hundreds of shades which constitute a human persona. From mature, self-confident people to immature ones, from pure pessimists to always smiling optimists, from rich hearts to poor bank accounts, from bungalows to slums I got to see it all and I learnt not to judge.
Being with YFS I have felt the miracles a single smile can bring about. I have seen the magic an effortless act of inclusion, a simple feeling of belongingness can bring. And most important of them all I have understood that everybody wants change but there are only few who can make it happen and this change can come about only one step at a time.
There are endless things that I learnt in the short volunteering period with YFS and there are things which I haven't even assimilated yet. In one year I got so many lessons on each and every aspect of my life, on life as a volunteer and on the reality of living society that it will take me a lifetime to sort, understand and assimilate these lessons.
In the end I just want to say that the past year has been an amazing journey which will forever be etched in my heart and mind. I will forever cherish the time I spent with YFS where for once I saw something beyond my individual self, I believed in something greater than myself and I worked for something without any expectations. For this I want to express my heartfelt gratitude towards Swati ma'am-the strong driving force who inspires at each step, humble Sudhakar Sir and dynamic Pawan Sir, the two pillars of YFS-Delhi and all the enthusiastic volunteers with whom I was fortunate enough to share this enlightening journey."
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| ...a simple smile, a feeling of belongingness and inclusion can do unimaginable miracles... |
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