More Than Just a Meal

Delivering meals brought joy and sadness. The food brought us the opportunity to make an impact and bring people Christmas joy, however it was sad to know many people depend on us to give them a Christmas meal. There were people who looked tired and had very little. Seeing this really made me thankful for the many things I have. I know I’m very blessed and fortunate to have the life I have.

I worked to change my perception toward people who are disadvantaged and other people who are marginalized. I learned I should not make judgments about people based on what I think I know about their circumstances. People have many different circumstances and situations in their life that I can not fully understand.

I started to think about the results of my actions. I had not thought about this before and took action to give out meals on Christmas. I learned that many small acts of kindness and giving can greatly and really impact people and change their day for the better. I learned to not always give large gifts to people to show I care. I took less for granted and gave more in an effort to treat others the way I want to be treated.

This experience showed me that true freedom is not the ability to do as I please. It means having the ability to make choices and being held accountable for the outcomes those choices may have on others. Kindness, compassion and gratitude helped shape my understanding of the choices I made that day. I had the freedom to make the choice to help and I felt it was my duty to use my freedom to serve and protect the rights of others.

I gained a greater appreciation for the 50 Super Meals I gave away that Christmas. Taking part in this project when I was young, humbled me and gave me the opportunity to understand more about suffering. I had the opportunity to shape my future and empower others to shape theirs through small acts of kindness. I found a greater appreciation for the importance of being kind and patient to all, no matter ones social or economic status.