Little Things Matter
On a free afternoon, I took a walk down into the community with another volunteer and Ephny, our translator. We went to visit Cecelia’s house. Cecilia is the happiest 80(ish!) year old woman I have ever met! I looked around her home, trying to see what might have been the reason for her smiles and welcoming arms. Cecilia didn’t have a 42 inch plasma TV. She didn’t have a marble kitchen counter. Cecilia didn’t even have what we would have recognized as a kitchen. What she did have was a husband who was as smiley as she was, a fruit tree outside of her house, and a cat named Felix. Her happiness was found in the little things, in the little matters that many of us often take for granted.
She showed us her pride In brewing coffee with a small, handmade cloth bag that had coffee beans in it that she had picked, dried, and roasted, and later added boiled water to make a Dominican version of a double shot espresso.
She looked healthy and happy and that was enough for her to smile upon our arrival, and to welcome us into her little place that was full of all of the little things that mattered to her.
Visiting Cecilia reminded me that it’s so important to take the time to look around you. To give love and hugs, and to radiate your energy into this world and start a change, because our wealth is in the things we give, not the things we have.
– Raghda, LiveDifferent Volunteer, Public Trip, Dominican Republic, Summer 2015