Namaste everyone,
Arriving in Kolkata at 3:30am, with no idea of where we’d be sleeping, put many of the Carpe kids on edge. Another contributing factor being that many of us had a stomach bug, which was causing some not so pleasant trips to the bathroom. Aside from all these factors, the Shiva group knew we’d soon be heading to The Mother Teresa House, to start some very rewarding volunteer opportunities.
There are many different houses that are available for volunteers; whether it be working with mentally challenged woman, leprosy patients, very ill patients, or hospice patients. Many of my peers and myself decided to work in the “Kalighat House”, which is the home for the dying and destitute.
I was ready to be holding the hands of dying patients, and interacting with them throughout the duration of my stay. However, we were instructed to do laundry and hang up the damp clothing on the roof to dry. After approximately three hours of laundry, we were told to help with washing the dishes after the patients had finished their lunch. That was my first day. There was no hand holding, no reassuring words or smiles, just laundry and dishes.
Laundry? Dishes? I didn’t expect that. I wholeheartedly expected to be a person of inspiration at Kalighat, a person that could make these people laugh or crack a smile, but after I took my first step into Kalighat the magnitude of their reality hit me like a semi truck. As I looked around the crowded room of roughly 50 men, one stood out to me more than the others. He had lost control of his entire body; he needed to be fed, changed, assisted to the bathroom, moved to his bed, and all he could do was look up at the ceiling tiles and ponder. It was a moment I will never forget, because in that moment I realized that this trip has been a kick start to the possibilities that are ahead of me, while this man is thinking about the possibility that he may die tomorrow. I realized that I was no inspiration to them, but rather they were inspiration to me. An inspiration to live each day in the present, and be thankful for everything you have, because you really don’t know how fast it can all be taken away from you.
The things that the Shiva group has seen and experienced in India has made me much more grateful for an array of things. Not only grateful for the vast opportunity we have, but grateful for the loved ones we have that support our every step. The saddest thing I’ve experienced here is seeing so many dying men, with no loved ones by their side. My ignorance told me maybe I’d be a hero to them, but the reality of it shows we’re just another group of volunteers that will leave a week later. Nothing compares to the comfort a loved one can bring you in a time of distress. For me, I had trouble at home seeing the value of my loved ones. If I had to leave this post with one thing, I’d say, be thankful for what you have, because you never know how fast it could all be taken away from you.