For the Tuesday Women's Association
of the Ethical Society of Saint Louis
by John Hoad
Don’t ever doubt
that the extra mile
you travel for a friend
not only elevates the individual
but adds to the database
by which the world
becomes a saner, better place.
The doer’s deed helps
the one it is done for
but also subtly shapes
the human condition.
No one knows where the ripple may stop.
Don’t ever doubt
that taking time
for one another,
to listen and to praise,
to challenge and to love,
nourishes the spirit
the way food nourishes the body.
The mind needs its nutrients and vitamins
of shared contact,
and what may seem routine
is laid under contribution
to give life meaning and soul.
Don’t ever doubt
that gathering together
to eat in fellowship,
to share news and chuckles,
and the stimulation of ideas,
and to work together
to create events of worth,
however daunting at first,
or on repetition,
functions like an oasis
in a desert of indifference.
If there were enough oases,
there would be no desert.
Don’t ever doubt
the importance of
what you are and what you do.
Your presence is a powerhouse,
a quiet Big-Bang of love,
generating a galaxy
of sharings and carings.