How to Be a Zen-Volunteer

January 2020 -

OH. MY. GOD!! 5 months have gone already!

It feels like yesterday that I arrived here but, at the same time, it feels like I’ve been here all my life. Also, today’s my birthday!

Happy Birthday tooo Meee, Happy Bir…

Oh, hey! Hello dear reader, I didn’t realize you were here! I was having a little party back there :D

But anyways, I’m very happy to see you and, since you came, let me tell you what happened in Filantrópia Adománybolt, during this first, cold, Hungarian January of 2020.



For starters, it’s COLD! Yeah, I know, I told you already, but that’s even worse because I threw my only pair of gloves in a trash bin by mistake! Luckily, I still have my hat.

But that’s not a problem at all, because at Filantrópia, our Charity Shop, we can find all the clothes we need at a very small price.
I wonder why people go to shopping malls to buy clothes!

Speaking of which, Budapest is such a vibrant, alive and dynamic place. Not only for the shopping, but because there are always so many people around, so many markets, parties and artistic events.
There’s always something to do here.

Look!

This is a pop art exibition...

...and this is everyone in Budapest on a Saturday night

But although this sounds very rosy, it sure is very easy to get lost in the messy fuss of the city.

It’s easy to forget about the present moment and smell the roses. No wonder I ended up here, talking to myself about how fast 5 months have passed!

Therefore, the biggest challenge of this month was practicing being present, so that time doesn’t go by so fast. 

In fact, I just discovered a secret that I want to share with you: working can be an amazing form of meditation!

An opportunity for mindful self-observation.

“Whaaat?! What is this gibberish?”
Let me explain.

I think we can learn to feel our body, physical sensation and emotions, at any time during all day! This moves our attention from the racing thoughts of the mind back to the present moment, where a lot of joy can be drawn by simply feeling and “being”.

Moreover, volunteering is quite relaxing; it is still hard work, but it’s nice to know that you are giving freely.

So, volunteer work can become a daily Zen-meditation.

I’d like to develop this skill because, think about it: once you learn to feel the pleasure of "being" while you’re working, then you can also feel it while you’re walking in the city, talking to a friend or partying in a club.
Even while arguing, if you get good at it.

It is like having an inner peace generator in your pocket, all day¹.

Sometimes are not for meditation...

So, in conclusion (and taking a break from the spiritual mumbo-jumbo), this month was very introspective, and I’m looking forward for a sunny spring to come, so that I can stop worrying about throwing my clothes in the trash.

By the way, if you want to send me a Birthday present, please come to our Charity Shop and leave a donation to support Profilantrop in his Mission, and the growth of my beard will be celebrated.

That’s all for this one, thank you very much for reading and I wish you a wonderful time with the rest of your day, or a relaxing cozy doze if you’re about to go to sleep; in any case, I’ll see you soon in the next post and, ah, I almost forgot…

Happy New Year !!


Elia.

Notes:

¹Some of the ideas expressed in this post were inspired by the book: Zen Body-Being by world champion martial artist Peter Ralston.