Volunteering is Good for the Soul 0
Hi everyone. I'm Jane Wray and I'm here with my podcast partner, Andrea Stein. Good to be with you again, Jane. And we're here for another episode of Joyous Journeys over 60. How are you, Andreas? I'm doing really, really well. I always enjoy these opportunities to listen from your experience and wisdom. Jane. So for me, this is truly the greatest opportunity to learn from somebody smart as you are. Excuse me? You can't see me, listeners, but I'm gagging. I am, um, seriously. So today I you know, it's funny that what we're going to talk about today, because we're going to talk about volunteering as being good for the soul. And, you know, in case you know that I'm volunteering with you to do this podcast. So it is a topic that, you know, that I think rings close to my heart particularly, you know, now that I'm in retirement now, two years, you know, finding opportunities to give back. Yes. But I also take in, um, you know, a mutual, a mutual benefit, a mutual. Um, I don't even know what the word would be that comes from, uh, being a volunteer. And and I think that that when you reach retirement, of course, regardless of your financial situation, you know, we're going to do a future episode about should I go back to work? But let's, for argument's sake, say that you're retired and that you know, you've got your finances covered. There is something that really warms the soul and is fulfilling by offering your time, your and your energy, your resources to being able to help where help is needed. And of course, you know, being a pastor of a church, you're very reliant on volunteers in order for the church to run. And I know that, uh, peace works very closely with Gladiolus Food Pantry, which is an amazing organization that serves so many people in our community that, um, that really do not necessarily have the resources just for their daily bread. So talk a little bit about about volunteering in terms of your experience. And, and you know who who most likely volunteers. One of the things that I have learned, even in my own journey, Jane, and sometimes I, I remember, you know, reflect on those moments, experiences that really brought a lot of happiness and smiles to my face. And I remember them, and I found out the moments truly that brought the most happiness to me were the moments when I was able to make someone else happy. Are the moments that really fulfilled me the most, was when I was able to help somebody else find their place, whatever that is, you know? And and for me, volunteering brings a happiness, brings a fulfillment that you can probably not find anywhere else because suddenly you are set free from. All right. I have to do this because I need to pay bills and I need to continue to do this job because, uh, financially it's necessary. Uh, you are set free from this line of thinking. Well, if I change, I need to find something else to do, and I don't know what else to do, so that's going to be tough. Now you can truly just focus on serving, volunteering in the area that you feel passionate about, and you are set free to truly do what the best you can to bring happiness to someone else. And that's for me, truly, the value of volunteering. It's not even so much about keeping an organization running and going and afloat, even though that's certainly an element of it. But I've seen it so many times, you know, when when I was able to encourage or help somebody volunteer in a certain capacity and that person loves it, and suddenly everything about that person changes. Suddenly there is a a radiant smile, an energy level that wasn't there before. And you just realize. Wow, that is powerful. That's the power of volunteering, you know? And you said something. I think that's that's particularly important that I want to point out. And that's that when you're trying to figure out where to volunteer, you can follow some of your passions, right? You can choose right, as opposed to sometimes in a job, maybe you chose, maybe you didn't chose. But you're right. In a job, the motivation may be a little bit different. You may be very fulfilled by your work, but you also do need to pay your mortgage, and you do need to be able to work to live or live to work, depending on which way you look at it. But when you choose to volunteer, first of all, you choose. And second of all, you also then can research volunteer opportunities that will make you happy and hopefully serve whatever the mission of where you're volunteering. Some people volunteer at a museum, right? Some people volunteer at a religious organization, some people volunteer at a social services organization or a business organization. There are so many opportunities to give of yourself, but also to receive that happiness, that fulfillment, that this time around. You choose, right? You choose. And to me, that's very, very exciting. You know, that's choosing like even let's say you volunteer at a museum because you're excited about what that specific kind of art, whatever it is. And it's not just that you around that art whenever you volunteer, but you can plan that excitement, you know, and the people who are coming and also touring the museum, you can really spread this excitement, you know, and the excitement is contagious. You know, and and this is what brings that happiness. And, you know, uh, I don't think anyone has ever regretted volunteering. Uh, you know, uh, sometimes, you know, you volunteer too much and realize, all right, I don't have the energy I need to cut this down. But once you get going, you can't get enough of it. And the other aspect that I found about volunteering is it's so much easier to experiment, to see if this is something you like. Now, if you go for another job, you know, there is many other realities, you know, hey, I would like to try if. Joining a choir is something I like. Well, maybe three months later, you find out. Yeah, that wasn't really it. Easy enough. You. You go and try something else. So, volunteering, since all of these outside pressures are gone, you know, it gives you the. Let me try this out for a while. Oh, this didn't work. Let me try something else out. And that freedom is empowering. Yeah, that's that's very fascinating because that's a little bit of my story. So that when I retired, because I was a former small business owner, I joined a to volunteer with a business group. And I was very, very excited about it. You know, I thought, okay, I could pass along all my great wisdom of being a business owner. I'm still gagging. Um, but but, um, but what I found was it was too much like working for me, and I was having a hard time letting go of that chapter of my life. And so while the organization is amazing, and I think the work they do is fantastic. It wasn't for me. It wasn't for me. I know people that volunteer at pet shelters and, um, because, you know, again, we did the episode on the Joy of pets. So maybe they don't want to own their own, but they foster or they just go in as professional pet lovers? Yeah. Um, there are so many different opportunities. But you're right. You get a chance to experiment and try things that maybe you never really thought that you would be able to or you were were interested in. Same thing with the art. I have a friend of mine that's a former naval pilot, and he volunteers at the Naval Museum, and he does tours, right. So he gets to tell stories and, and, you know, and so again, it allows him to share his, um, his experiences, but to do it in a way that, um, that he feels very gratified, but also the people that are out the other end of volunteering. So it's serving and be served. And I think, you know, that mutual relationship is there. And, you know, let's not under underplay the social side of volunteering as well, right? You want to make friends. The best way to make friends is to belong. And the best way to belong is to volunteer with an organization where maybe you think you're going to meet other people that have similar interests that you have. And and it is remarkable the bond between volunteers as well. You know, one of the places as a pastor, I visit a fair number of people in hospitals. And, you know, no matter what wing of the hospital it is, you know, you have the professional nurses. But if you go into a gift shop as a front end receptionist, you meet volunteers all over, you know, and, uh, and it is interesting, you know, you see the volunteers and there's often a smile on their face. There is a, you know, uh, a mission to, to make your life if you are there as a patient or as, you know, uh, the loved one of a patient, you know, to make your time in the hospital just as as as nice as can be, understanding no one wants to be in the hospital. And, and I just look at these volunteers that serve in that specific context. Now, I'm volunteering in a hospital is not for everyone, I get it. But, you know, there's only one example that always stands out is that, you know, they add so much to that specific hospital that without them, the the quality of the medical services may be the same. You know, the quality of whatever may be the same, but something would be missing something. Volunteering adds life and the spirit into the environment where it happens and it's enriching. It's, uh, it's powerful. But, you know, I think you also bring up a good point. I could not volunteer in a hospital. Yeah, my my heart. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. There's there's joy and sadness and I don't think I could. I could do that. I could volunteer at a rescue pet rescue. I'd be happy doing that. I could not do that. I mean, knowing how much I love pets and seeing a pet suffer it. I could volunteer. And that's how we're different. I could volunteer, probably in a hospital. Yeah, a pet rescue would be tough for me, but. But I think that that's also one of the joys of why volunteering is good for your soul. Because you need to kind of self-assess. Yes. What kind of. Don't volunteer where you think you should. Volunteer where you think you could. And I think there's a really big difference there that that knowing, you know, your own personality, knowing kind of your boundaries, knowing you know what you can handle, what you can handle, and also what you want to do. Right. I mean, not all of it is pet rescue or hospitals. You know, again, you can volunteer at a museum, you can volunteer at a food pantry. You can, you know, there's so many, so many volunteering opportunities. You could volunteer at events, right? You know, events really rely on. I know in Miami they do the Tortuga music Festival, right. And that's almost entirely dependent on on volunteers to man booths or help with registration or, you know, or or whatever. So there are there are lots of opportunities for you to be able to find. Um. Find those things. But that leads to a good question, Andreas. Okay, so now I think I want to volunteer, because that'll fill my time and it'll help me make new friends, and it will hopefully serve and give to others that are in need. How do I find volunteer opportunities? Yeah. I'm willing. Right. How do I find these volunteering opportunities? Now, if you already have an idea of what you are passionate about, whether it's arts, whether it's music, whether it's spiritual life, whether, you know, the maybe the very, very first step is to examine yourself. But okay, you know, what is a broad area generally that I would like, you know, to volunteer in or I'm positive that ain't for me. You mentioned hospital. I can do it for me. I, I can't do it. I just can't. So just first examine yourself. You know, where you know, what areas would you like to really explore becoming a volunteer in and whatever that area is, whether you go online or, you know, maybe, uh, talk to friends in the community where you live. What are the organizations, you know, that, uh, that work that serve in that area? You know, maybe you, uh, want to help, uh, you know, with, uh, in a. Domestic violence shelter. I'm just that came up to me because I. I'm familiar with that, you know, uh, work and know shelters. You know, for some, that's absolutely not. And for some, that is. Oh, I would really love to volunteer in that area. So, uh, you know, and then be proactive, find the organizations, uh, that work in that area, speak to counselors, you know, who refer clients to, you know, to shelters. Um, but I think the very first step is to find out what area you would like to volunteer in. I think that I think that makes a lot of sense, and I think the one that people don't even think about, particularly at our age, is schools. Yes, schools are always looking for I mean, you know, we could be professional grandmas and grandpas. Absolutely. Um, and so I know schools, you know, particularly the, um, you know, K to six or however that works out. Elementary school are always looking for someone to come in and read to the kids or, um, you know, tell a story or, um, and, or be a teacher's aide. I mean, there's, there's lots of opportunities like that as well to give back, particularly maybe if you're feeling like you miss your kids or your grandkids, uh, opportunities to do that. I think you're right. I think a little bit of self-assessment is is the first step. And then, you know, kind of go wide, right? Look at what museums or schools or agencies or, you know, spiritual, um, houses are available locally to you do some research. The internet is an amazing opportunity for you to research without actually having to make contact first. Uh, and, and, you know, figure it out from, from there. Sometimes they'll even have pictures of other volunteers. So you kind of get a feeling like, do I fit right and then get started? Yeah, you you will not be able to answer all question or determine. Yeah, this is right for me. No, that's wrong with me. The good thing about volunteering, if you try it for two weeks and realize, yeah, that ain't for me. You don't need to submit a one month notice. Yeah. You know, you don't need to, you know, go through a bureaucratic process, you know, to get out of it again. You just say it ain't for me, you know? So get started. Take that first step, try it out. Uh, if it works, great. And if it doesn't? If you realize, no, that's fine as well. Go somewhere else. But the most. If it's volunteering, take that first step, get involved, get going, and we will find out. More often than not, it really feels the part in your life that you didn't even realize needed feeling. Yeah, absolutely. The first step is the hardest. Yes, right. It is getting a little bit out of your comfort zone and making a contact, you know, with the unknown, and also realize that, you know, when you decide to become a volunteer, there's usually training. And so whatever you choose, you may want to just go through the training to determine whether that is something, um, that you would be interested in or, or not. Uh, but, you know, nobody's setting a volunteer free. Yeah. Without giving them some insight into protocols and the training as well. And so, again, it's a great opportunity for connections. It's a great opportunity to give back. You know, one of the nice things about retirement is that we have the ability to give back. And hopefully most of us have had, um, you know, a lot of, of, of gratification in our own lives, our families, our careers. And so now is an opportunity to give back. Fills time. Right. Makes friends. I mean, I don't think there's a downside. There is no downside. But, uh. Is this where we started out? The greatest smile you will ever smile with is a smile that you put on someone else's face. Uh, you will never experience the happiness that go that is larger than the happiness that you can provide for someone else. And a word that specifically will take, take you. That's part of, you know, your individual journey, interests, passion. But still, the bottom line of volunteering is I think you will find a happiness that you could not find anywhere else. Yeah, I agree, and I think, you know, just to kind of sum it up, volunteering makes your journey over 60 joyous. It certainly does. So again, if you're listening, I think entries and I are both saying the same thing. Go find a volunteer opportunity if you haven't already. Experiment. Figure out what what drives your heart where you think you will find that happiness, but also. Where you will give happiness. Um, it is a mutual relationship between the volunteer and the recipient, and I don't think you can find a greater cause. Yes. So with that. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you, Jane, for allowing me to, uh, to listen to you and giving your volunteering to this organization and to me, I am very, very, very appreciative of that. And I can I can share as we sign off. Volunteering to do this podcast has been so personally fulfilling for me. And then I get to spend time with you and we get to just, you know, kind of pass the talk about a variety of topics. Anyhow, stay tuned for our next episode. As always, I'm Jane Wray and Andrea Stein, and this is Joyous Journeys over 60.