Tiny Victories

 

When online vitriol and accusations hit social media, it's time to focus on the tiny victories that we see every day.  Recently, a group of migrants/immigrants/refugees/human beings (pick your term) were settled into the town of Ayer's only motel.  It's a spot that is often used by people in transition or who cannot come up with enough money to rent a place.  For a tiny town, this was a big blow, and some people who were staying at the motel a week at a time were told to vacate.  This is happening all over the state (all over the country), and in Massachusetts, the towns don't have any choice in the matter.  

There is actually enough to go around if we would all work together instead of fighting about who is more worthy of help and who ought to be doing the helping.  The total number of people we are now housing is not overwhelming...it was just a surprise that hadn't been communicated by either the State or by the coordinating organization.  The total number of people who have been displaced is not overwhelming either.  But the thing that has been overwhelming is the number of people online who feel that being keyboard warriors about their opinions is serving any purpose at all.  

It's tempting to sink into doom-scrolling in these situations and to lose sleep over the inhumanity expressed by some of our neighbors.  But in order not to lose ourselves in all of that, we choose to focus on the tiny victories we experience every day at Stone Soup Kitchen.  Yes, we have enough to go around.  Within just a couple of days, we saw the following:

A room found for a woman who was sleeping at a laundromat.
A sleeping bag and air mattress delivered to a man who has been tenting.
Food delivered to an extended family that was displaced and had no reliable transportation.
Enough food at the pantry all week long.

I'm sure that other organizations around town have seen similar tiny victories.  This is all achieved by people who put down their devices and opened their heart to a specific situation.  No one can "save" everyone.  But all of the people in need in this community could be helped if a couple of people or families got together and simply helped one.  One of my favorite quotes by the late great Mother Teresa is, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."  

Same goes for helping people to find shelter, clothing, and other necessities.  Help just one.  

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