The Buddhists speak of the preciousness of a human birth that is free and well favored. I thought about this quite a lot today while I was volunteering at a home-rebuilding project for an elderly, low-income family in Denver.
This particular volunteering group was organized by Michael's companyHere we were, a bunch of employed, well-paid, mostly caucasian individuals who were taking a few hours of free time to help another family.
In the midst of all this, there were a few volunteers whose job it was to make sure the other volunteers had their free T-shirt and foodlots of food. We were provided with free Starbucks coffee & Einstein bagels all day, and a barbecue lunch (hotdogs, sausages, 4 kinds of chips, sodas, bottled water, 2 kinds of potato salad and slaw). And since I'm choosing to be meatless right now, I starting thinking about the lunch I would make out of pretzels and potato salad when it really hit me how much privilege I have...
I can make the choice not to eat what is provided for me at this event because I know I don't have to worry about whether or not I'll be able to get food again whenever I want. I can actually make a choice to not eat meat because I can afford other options to remain well nourished. Here I was volunteering to help re-build someone else's home when I've been paying someone else to remodel my bathroom.
Sure, I've experienced my share of oppression and prejudice, but the amount of privilege I have is really incredible. And I am grateful for the opportunity to experience such a precious human birth, free and well favored.
9 eggs today (forgot to get them yesterday)
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