week 18, post 4: more encounters with the sacred

Yesterday, Lynda Kelley and I accompanied a group of volunteers from Buffalo, N.Y. to Grand Isle to do some recovery work. The labor of the volunteers on a physical plane is truly a gift to all of those who are suffering. They did repair & restoration carpentry on the tourism office. Hurricane Katrina had, among other things, ripped the doors off their hinges. The group then took an afternoon break and took a short boat ride into the estuary. Wayne, our guide, told the volunteers about the shrimping, the fight to save the wetlands, the history of the fort on the island, privateer Jean Lafitte, and other marvels of the area. He then took us by the porpoise nursery. Yes, there they were: two mother& child pairs of porpoises. The little ones where tight by their mothers' sides -- fin to fin. Our guide said this indicated they were newborns! (at about 1 month, the youngsters would be at about 3' from mom). What an awesome sight. Alas! I have no pictures of the fleeting sight!
When volunteers come, they also give the residents another gift: the gift of listening, learning, appreciating, respecting, enjoying. Even if they never picked up a hammer or a saw, much would have been accomplished. Buildings and hearts have been broken here, but pity is never helpful. These Cajuns have much to give, and to receive from them in humility and gratitude is to bless.
Please remember that. You also do not have to travel miles and miles to distant places to give the gifts of attention, appreciation, enjoyment, etc.
Peace, Warren.