Daily Reminder.

Today after Embrace, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude on my drive home. Several things happened today and I took a step back outside of what my life looked like on the surface or at that moment and looked at the bigger picture and was overcome with God's grace! Man, sometimes, the patience and the power that God gives you when he knows you are in need of His love can change everything.

So I'm thankful for being able to see my projects and efforts come to fruition and become tangible products.
I'm thankful for people who care enough never to forget about you.
I'm thankful for the power of prayer and especially when the poor ask you to pray for them.
I'm thankful for the character and life that exists on the streets, they teach me more than a lot of people I know.
I'm thankful for hope, that people have even without anything. They give me hope.
I'm thankful to have been reminded why I love humanity.

May you all rest easy.

selfish vs selfless

How much of what we do daily is for our own benefit?

For a long time, I didn't realize what a selfish life I was living. I didn't really get the bigger picture of why we should be doing anything on this earth. All I thought about was myself and what I wanted and what made me happy. Of course all of us have been through struggles in life where all we want to do is just be happy and maybe that leads us to indulge in our worldly desires. Yet living in our own desires, when do we show our appreciation for what we have and give back? Now I wonder, where was my appreciation for everything I had and for the things that REALLY mattered?

I always used to think, "When the time is right", "When I get myself right", "I'm too busy", but really, after just DOING and putting future plans into action TODAY, I slowly began to find my way back to God and I realized the time is always right to get RIGHT with God. and to GIVE YOURSELF to something that NEEDS you. Maybe we fear not being perfect enough, but I always think that if you've had these selfish habits for a long time, you can't expect to change overnight. The blessing is in the journey for me. So in no way am I perfect, nor will I ever be, but the effort is now being AWAKE to the world and what matters.

The more and more I think about the past couple of years, especially in college, I didn't fully grasp yet that the way I live my life is. not. about. me. I am an able person, blessed to be educated and healthy, with all the basic things you need to survive and I should be sharing that blessing to help others instead of continually living a life in which I only benefit. Especially with working with the homeless for the past year and half and being around these people, I always say to myself, "Why the heck would anyone not do this?!". All people really need is for other people to care and if I am a person who has everything I need, am I going to continually live only for myself or for other people so they can get what I have too???

These are daily thoughts that I have and despite my journey just feeling like its begun, I am so glad to be conscious and awake, in every sense of those words. It's not about boasting, making yourself better than anyone, whatever accolades you get, the title you have under your name, it's not even about YOU/ME at all. Nothing should ever be done with YOU in mind and I'm glad I know that now. When you truly care about what you do and who your serving, the rest will come easily.

Embrace #3

"I will only brag about what a weak, imperfect person that I am, and how great God is to use such a weak, imperfect person to do His work!" -Paul. (via Sean's FB)
 
Today, I am blessed enough to see in action the power of prayer and helping others. I heard some amazing new developments with Embrace and man, am I excited for whats to come. It's great to see people who are doing great things to help other people get put in positions to be able to help even more.

Anyway, as we served today, there was a Puerto Rican man who was so thankful for us today. He's working to get off the streets so he can see his wife and 2 daughters again... and then he shared with us how rough his life has been. Moving from Puerto Rico to New York, witnessing his mother kill herself before him when he was young, and now living on the streets away from his family. I can't even imagine... all I can do is keep working in the streets and doing what I can, where I can to make sure these people don't lose hope in themselves.

Speaking of HOPE, Sean shared with us an old video of an old veteran who used to live in the streets and was being helped by the services of Embrace. Sean hadn't seen him in a while and to his disbelief, ran into him today at one of the veteran shelters FULLY DRESSED IN A SUIT, with his life together, so blessed and happy. I damn near cried when Sean showed us his before and after pictures of him finally getting himself off the streets. The last words he said in the video when he was still homeless was, "I just want to relax..." And to see him now, do a complete 180 with his life, is such a blessing. I can't even begin to explain what a great feeling that is.

On a sidenote, and a funnier part of the evening, was the sheer excitement and joy when people were coming up to get food and realizing we were in fact serving sushi! Some people had their eyes buggin' out in disbelief that we actually had sushi for them. It was great. Absolutely great. Heart-warming.

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If you ever want to join me, e-mail me at misscammille@gmail.com or visit the Embrace FB page. http://www.facebook.com/Embrace1

Embrace #2

After a rainy day in San Diego yesterday, Joe, Jon & I headed out to serve food with Embrace on 16th & Island in downtown. We were blessed enough to have a buffet-like serving of food complete with bread, brisket, fish, rice, pasta, cornbread, beans and dessert courtesy of the San Diego Food Bank. It was the longest line I had seen since I've served and considering it was a rainy day, I know a lot of people had been waiting for some light at the end of the day.

By the end of the hour, as we were winding down and cleaning up, there was a man who was singing for us and he broke out in Amazing Grace. His soulful voice paired with the crisp San Diego night air, made for a perfect setting of true gratitude and appreciation. Standing before me was this man who I was certain had so much less than I, yet had so much more SOUL than a lot of people I know with everything they need. For me, at that moment, I heard nothing else but his beautiful singing. I didn't know this man but I could tell by the look in his eyes and the way he sang with such conviction that he had seen a lot & experienced a lot of beauty in his lifetime.

And these are the moments I truly live for. So organic and so refreshing. Not those moments you waste trying to videotape or tweet about as its happening, but those moments you want to fully experience and hope no one disturbs it.

Since I've been back in LA, I've been working with a non-profit group called Embrace. Started by Sean Sheppard, who is quickly becoming a role model and mentor to me, they work with a lot of college students to get them interested in working in the community and helping the less fortunate. Embrace has various programs including health and wellness, social justice and service learning, irrespective of race, religion or cultural upbringing. It's open arms for everyone and weekly, I've been joining my friends serving food to the homeless community in downtown San Diego.

On my first day there, there was a man who was so gracious and thankful for what we were doing. He looked like he hadn't eaten all day and we told we'd be back tomorrow if he wanted more food. He said, "I'll probably be dead by then." My heart sank and I quickly remembered the immense amount of help that our community needs. Every community needs.

Even moreso when I lived in LA, there was a HUGE community of people that needed help. With my sorority, Chi Delta Theta, my dear friend who was our community service chair made it her mission to educate and expose us to the homeless community in Los Angeles. Places like Skid Row is heavily concentrated with the less fortunate and I praise her always for making this her mission during the time. Instead of simply donating money or doing walks (which are all still awesome), she put us in positions where we ate, shook hands, had conversation and really got to know these individuals. We served food, played games at the Homeless Youth Drop-In Center in Hollywood, gave manicures and massages at a battered women's shelter and served hundreds of breakfast meals at Midnight Mission. It truly taught me to be more compassionate and to continue giving my efforts whenever I could.

Now, I write all of this because it means a lot to me and I think it should mean a lot to everyone. These people are so grateful, respectful and kind whenever I've served them. They have goals and aspirations like the rest of us do, but maybe just a little beaten off their paths without the right support to see them through. Yes they have problems, health problems, drug related problems, all kinds of problems, but they are also humans ... who lack all the simple luxuries that we all take for granted.

So when we're complaining about the little things (I'm guilty of this too), I always try to remember how blessed we are. If you ever get the chance to serve other people, try it, at least once, and allow it to open up your eyes and your heart to the truth about our world. A lot of us have preconceived notions and prejudices against homeless people, and if people just took the time out more to educate themselves, be more compassionate and have a little more empathy... someone would truly appreciate your service, it could even save their life.

1 hour minimum a week, just to forget about yourself for once, and give that hour to someone else. It really isn't all that much. In the time you probably spent going through blogs and reaching mine, an hour has passed. On top of that, it makes your soul rich with all the things that we all should be striving for. When $$$, family, and life problems are all stacked up against you, humility and selflessness are some of the qualities I value most in people.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” -Dalai Lama