A few years ago I saw a sticker that said "Be the Change You Want To See  In the World" -Gandhi
I had seen the quote before, liked it, bought it and stuck it on my car. Every once in awhile I smile as I open my car door and consider the wisdom of a great man. Honestly though, I had always very simply interpreted the quote as "Hey, quit your Whining and Do something!" This weekend I saw it from a different angle, the deeper truth in the words.
So each month, as most of you know I volunteer at the Bangor Humane Society to do spays and neuters. Over time we have formed a group of people who are the Snuggle Committee that help to wake up the animals after surgery. Originally it was people from the email group, but as time has passed the group has also included some of the volunteers that work there during the week.
This month I was running a little ragged going into it. For the past 2 weeks the practice has been very busy and I was feeling a little frazzled. Still, I always enjoy my weekends there, between the energy of the group and the feeling that together we are making a difference.  So I checked the voices in my head that were listing To Do List items that I should be attending to as I drove to the Humane Society. As a deal to myself, I stopped at Starbucks on the way and sat down for a tasty drink and a moment to breathe.
The list was modest. 2 rabbits, 6 dogs, 7 cats. Erica had prepared all of the medications and Valerie was ready as always to be my right hand. Today's Snuggle group was a pre-veterinary student (Abby), a 4th grade boy and his mom, a woman my age and her 20ish daughter and daughter's boyfriend (Kelli, Chelsea and Brian respectively). Brian had been to Iraq, but was a little queasy watching the surgeries up close. He looked away as I dove into surgery, which was good because at about 6' 2" I was thinking if he passed out I couldn't catch him.
The 4thgrade boy was refreshingly curious and worried about the comfort of the patients as they woke up from anesthesia. Abby, the pre-veterinary student is one of the most enthusiastic young people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Her single minded focus on being a veterinarian and learning the ropes makes her an amazing pupil. She had just had her first interview at a veterinary school and was anxiously awaiting the results.  It was easy to see that regardless of the outcome of the interview, she must never waiver from her goal to become a veterinarian. Anyone that passionate about their life's path should never be dissuaded...but we all know of people who have been derailed from what they were meant to do by the wrong thing happening at the wrong time.
5 of the dogs that we were neutering were from the same litter. 7 weeks old, sweet with the skunky odor of puppy still on their breath.  At one point I looked around to see how the group was doing.... While the 4th grade boy cradled a kitten that we had spayed, warming her as her shivering body woke up, Abby stood guard on one of the dogs ready to extubate (pull the endotracheal tube) as she had just learned to do, and each of the others had a waking animal that they were compassionately nursing. The look on all of their faces was the same. Unguarded, focused on helping an animal and extending compassion.  I think it is a natural and higher spiritual need to extend compassion to another that all people have, and it is beautiful when it is expressed, no matter what your age, no matter what your personality.
As I walked back out to my car yesterday I saw the sticker.
"Be the Change You Want to See in the World." --Gandhi
 I smiled as I considered a different interpretation.  If you want to See compassion, start by immersing yourself in a situation that will inspire compassion. The true beauty in the day for me was seeing each of those people open their hearts to another. In this case, it was an animal regaining consciousness, but it could have easily have been feeding the hungry or putting order to chaos, or giving children unconditional love. I was almost too busy to see that truth yesterday, too focused on the to do list to see the opportunity in front of me.  As I look back over the past 20 years, I see the time I've spent listening to people's negative view of the world, see the time I've been overwhelmed by the to do list, see the time I've been focused on moving forward and not on looking around me and I'm a bit regretful. I'm thinking this morning if I send this out I can make a ripple that will touch another soul who wants to Be the Change...
 
Or else maybe you'll just buy the sticker. 

 
 
Not coincidentally, I have been playing this song over and over again this week on my iPod. Perhaps some of you saw this moving performance in the Hope for Haiti Now telecast. Believe it or not, I'm not a religious guy...but I do think that sometimes spirituality kicks you in the face no matter who you are.