The Nice Volunteer Lady

I am writing early on the last day of our Monterey trip. All of the people attending Holly’s conference had the afternoon off to explore the area or whatever yesterday afternoon. I had a coffee in one of the local cafes and asked what we should do that is nearby. The barista recommended a hike in Point Lobos State Reserve which we had actually passed on our way to Big Sur. It was gorgeous-lots of hikes along the headlands with views of birds, seals, otters, and sea lions. There was even a nice volunteer lady at the info station (and I say nice because it was one cold and raw and windy day to be sitting out just waiting for 2 little tourists from NC who don’t know the 1st thing about those pinnipeds). Anyway it seemed that each turn was more spectacular than the last especially as the sun made its arc over the sky illuminating different parts of the rocks, bluffs, cypress, and coves. We saw several places with protected inlets where the water was a true emerald color. There were birds galore. The nice volunteer lady said that she had seen 2 whales earlier in the day, but not knowing what to look for, I can only say that I saw alot of surf. Maybe one of those spurts was a whale spout. Who knows? Could be.

We also tried to cram in another trip to a bird sanctuary called the Elkhorn Slough before Holly had to be back for a big reception, but a guy was just closing the gate for the day when we arrived. It was about 30 mins north of Monterery and tucked away down a bunch of rural roads. I wasn’t disappointed though because we got to see a lot of rural farmland-many farmstands advertising avocados 5 for $1, artichokes 3 for $1, broccoli 2 for $1, well you get the idea. It was pretty, rich land that must grow alot of what we eat back east too. In fact, we passed a big Dole plant sitting next to one of the farms. Cool views even though we missed the slough.

The nice volunteer lady at the info station had a green State Park service jacket and official, green ranger pants. I knew that she was a volunteer rather than a paid ranger because she had a big patch on her sleeve that said “volunteer” (I’m smart and observant that way, tee hee). The State Parks out here are really suffering with the California budget cuts. So it was really nice of her to spend her time sitting out in the cold, as I said, to help us learn more about the features of her park. It got me thinking about the research I read recently about how doing kind things for others helps people who have serious medical conditions. One article I saw in the NY Times was about a woman who had been diagnosed with MS in her 30’s and wasn't doing well either physically or emotionally. One of her doctors told her to try doing things for others to take her mind off her condition. She decided to give 29 gifts to others, one a day for a month-sometimes actual gifts, sometimes gifts of kindness or helpfulness. She felt it improved her MS symptoms so she wrote a book about it (called something obvious like "29 gifts".) There are scientists actually doing research on why that helps. Personally I think it takes your mind off your own problems, forces you to concentrate on the needs of someone else, and diminishes whatever difficult symptoms you’re experiencing. Having a bad day or just feeling crabby? Do something nice for someone else. There is always someone worse off to help and they’ll appreciate it.

Along that same vein, I remember when I was being treated last year for my leukemia and couldn’t work. I was very sad about that. I had worked through my breast cancer treatment, just taking off the days I was sick from the chemo wallops. The leukemia kept my cell counts so low that I couldn’t be around the general public much less the going to the doctor public. It made me feel quite useless. I was kind of crabby and listless at one point early on in my treatment and couldn’t figure out why. Then I saw a young woman being treated for her scleroderma, a condition that causes the skin, fingers, and connective tissue to stiffen. I first saw her in the hospital on one of my admissions then again in the clinic. I spoke to her and her family, which just lit me up inside. I felt for just a moment like I was back in my clinic talking to a patient and her family. That helped me understand all of that irritableness I had been feeling. I wasn’t doing anything for anyone else. I just had to live with that for a while. I am very happy now to be back at work, to be helping other people. And if you come to me with the blues, I’m gonna write you a prescription for 29 gifts-to give others.