Tree Branches

Today started with a pile of tree branches bigger than a minivan. Our task-- break down and compact the pile with our bare hands.(Okay, with our work-glove-covered hands...) "This is just ridiculous!" I exclaimed, "Do they really expect us to do this by hand?" Thus began my lesson in doing things with love and patience, the good old-fashioned way. I started to learn something about myself that I'm not quite sure I would have learned in any setting other than this particular street in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

It's about being positive. And unfortunately, I'm not the world's most positive person. In fact, I think I've just about worn out the adage, "I'm not being pessimistic. I'm being realistic." It was perfectly characteristic that I approached this large task with such a cynical, biting remark. Then, all at once, something clicked. One of my friends trotted past toting a 10-foot branch and said, "Hey, Amanda, wanna give me a hand with this one?" How could she so easily pounce on a job that a couple of power tools and a dump truck could have done in half the time? I suddenly felt sheepish for being such a moron! There I was, in New Orleans with my heart set on helping people, and yet I wasn't doing it with a happy heart. I was still worrying! I was still dwelling on the negative aspects of my situation. After all the fundraising and meetings and long hours spent to get here, all I could do was worry and fret. That's the moment when it began to make sense. Yes, there was definitely a more efficient way to tackle this pile of wood. But did it really matter? Was there any point in dwelling on the negative? Of course not! I had my friends around me hacking away at that pile. They are soooo much better than a box of power tools.

So that's my new goal. No more negativity. The small annoyances are simply that-- small, trivial annoyances. There are so many more things in this world that can benefit from the energy I spend fretting.

I took a deep breath, turned to my friend, and said, "Yep, let's kill this sucker! I bet we can all get this done by the end of the day!" And that's exactly what we did.

Amanda Roth
Major- Religious Studies