There is a classic fable about a man who approaches three laborers who are busy breaking and shaping rocks. The man asks the first laborer what he is doing. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m smashing rocks,” the laborer replies. The man asks the second laborer what he is doing and he responds with “I’m shaping rocks.” The man then asks the third laborer the same question and the laborer responds, “I’m building a cathedral.”
Perspective is everything.
Two workers labored with glumness while the third saw something different in his work. Each was engaged in the same activity; it was their view of the end game shaped their perspective of the work.
I’ll admit. Over the past few weeks, I’ve sometimes felt the challenges – the rocks that needed smashing — were endless. That’s when I take a deep breath and shift my perspective to align with the third worker in the fable.
The labor of many of us who are sheltering in place, working from home, taking care of families, teaching our kids and caring for aging parents or worrying about them from afar — all while not touching our face, hand sanitizing, wiping every surface and repeating it all over again — can feel like an endless game of whack a mole. Hit the next problem or task that pops up only to have three more pop up in its place.
In this strange new world where every encounter with others is fraught with potential risk of exposure to COVID-19, even in all of that, we have a choice.
We can see this effort, day after day, as drudgery akin to smashing a seemingly endless quantity of rocks, or can we look at it as building a cathedral. A cathedral community that puts the greater long-term good of all above the comfort and convenience of the present.
I see that cathedral community being built every day. I see it in the volunteers sewing masks for our clients, staff and volunteers.
I see it in the direct care workers and personal care aids who show up every day to care for frail older adults, some of whom are COVID-19 positive patients. They provide care in seniors’ their homes, adult foster care and assisted living centers and nursing homes, all for very modest pay. We’ve launched a special #HomeCareHeroes social media campaign to honor these dedicated workers. We invite you to share your appreciation for their work by posting a message on social media with that hashtag or sending an email to info@areaagencyonaging.com and we’ll pass your message along.
I see the cathedral taking shape in the face of the volunteers making calls to seniors. Volunteers are lending a friendly ear, a reassuring voice and providing a much-needed human connection. The Friendly Caller program is open to any senior who would like to connect with a friendly person to talk to while sheltering in place during the pandemic. During these weekly calls staff and screened volunteers provide reassurance, help connect seniors to information regarding services they may need and mostly, make sure they are not feeling lonely or isolated. Seniors are encouraged to call (269) 408-4332 to sign up for the program.
I see cathedral rafters being shaped by the drivers delivering meals to seniors’ homes. They’re helping us get nutritious meals to seniors 60 or older who struggle to secure and prepare food. Seniors impacted by the crisis can receive hot home delivered meal delivered 5 days a week with two frozen meals for the weekend depending on location; others may receive a weekly delivery of fresh frozen meals. Seniors can call (800) 654-2810 to learn what home-delivered meal programs are available in their area and sign up.
I see visions of the cathedral community in the hundreds of people who have responded to requests for volunteers to meet the needs of older adults through both the Aging and Adult Services Agency website and United Way of Southwest Michigan’s volunteer portal. You can sign up to help at uwsm.org/volunteer.
I see cathedral work being done by drive-through food pantry volunteers across the region; in the commodities distribution staff at Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency and United Way staff who are working with Area Agency on Aging to coordinate a distribution system to get shelf-stable meals to older adults who need it. Watch the Area Agency on Aging website and social media pages for information on this effort. It’s coming soon.
We’re all grateful for the nurses, doctors and other health care staff caring for people battling COVID-19 on the front lines. They continue to labor at great personal risk. Thank you isn’t enough. You’re all heroes and cathedral community architects to us.
Which brings me back to those of us who are sheltering in place, slogging through the strange and unfamiliar daily grind brought on by this pandemic. Your labor is just as important. Every in-person contact you avoid by staying home is a greater opportunity for the most vulnerable of our community – and our health care providers from direct care workers to ER doctors and ICU staff — to get through this crisis alive. That makes you a cathedral builder – and a #StayatHomeHero — too.