I'm Hungry We'll Work For Food

I'm not feeling hope anymore, why? I'm not feeling the over exuberance to serve to give, again why? Are we too busy to feel anymore?

Has something been taken away? I for one want it back. My cure . . . Stand up, reach for the sky and shout "Enough, I'm different . . . I want my life back."

Now stretch until you feel the tingling. Then slam your hands on your desk. Do you feel it? Blood rushing to your hands like a flood of salvation army workers ringing bells in front of stores at Christmas, that’s hope.

A big part of life for me is Giving . . . It makes me feel as though I am able to make a difference . . . And I do every day. And that is my gift to you, Giving is the only true happiness drug and guess what, it's legal.

Let me tell you a story. Many years ago while going to college. I was driving on route 355 and exiting onto Golf road. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a woman. She was dressed in dirty tattered clothes. She stood on the side of the road of that busy street. By her side stood a tiny child, she stood shivering in the early mornings light. And in her small trembling hands she held a piece of brown cardboard. It read;

I'm Hungry We'll Work For Food

I never turned my head, eye contact would have made me surrender to my shame and I would have had to act. I saw car after car do the same . . . I never forgot.

And now I never pass anyone in need . . . Not without those feelings gripping me and I gratefully dip into my pockets. Over the years, I have experienced the chill everywhere. In Seattle there was a tent city, just like Steinbeck's Joads. Tucson they sell newspapers on the street. In Las Cruses a man waited at the counter of a Taco Bell, no one would help him. In Washington D.C., I've seen them as street urchins playing five galleon pals strung together as drums. I’ve seen them where I used to ride my bike along the river in Des Moines. I’ve seen them in Chicago, pushing shopping carts, in San Antonio begging for change. And I even seen them living in cars right here in Waukesha, Wisconsin. We can turn our heads but their ghosts will haunt us forever.

Today I work to make a difference. Today I challenge each one of you to make a difference by Giving or helping someone else feel the joy of giving. Sometimes all you have to do is ask for a can of food, a dollar for the local Food Pantry or the Salvation Army. Help spread the hope and let them feel the joy. Let's not forget the less fortunate.

Dan Hanosh
Dreams Are Yours to Share