Happy 2009; launching in with great momentum.

Hari Om
Greetings for the new year; feeling good and starting the year with momentum on account of December activities.
Like they say make the best of the changes that come your way and then any change is a always for the best.
The following is an attempt to explain the momentum i am feeling. it was a confluence of a unforeseen set of events, the opportunity

• December absence of Shrikrishnaji (community outreach leader @ the mission)
  
• .... led to my volunteering to step in for homeless sleeping bag and the coats delivery for the winter.

Initially it was intimidating to consider coordinating a set of volunteers for the sleeping bag collection and drop off. It didn't help that we hadn't yet nailed down the supplier for the bags.
And when the volunteers who had signed up were asking for specific dates and times that were yet to be worked out.

Learnings, the experience taught me to focus on the objectives which in this i set as follows,

1. getting a cost effective deal on the sleeping bags
2. enrich the volunteering experience for all participants

... the rest as the saying goes falls into place. And by HIS grace and Gurudev's blessings it all worked out. This was a first for me to practice the message, don't get attached to the fruits of your labor, do your duty. There is good in every person that is around us, it is a matter of recognizing that and acknowledging it. it turned out to be an enriching experience.
Once this was set i knew i had to have a 2 pronged approach and wonderfully enough the supplier/recipient lined up so well; in retrospect explaining the cause got the parties helping and interested.
Supplier - Russell, Walmart manager at the San Jose store was a godsend. He was clear from the get go that the price was not negotiable because it is already "our everyday low price" and they indeed were 15$ cheaper than the competition. After getting the price out of the way it was easy to get the focus on quantity and delivery dates. Jimmy, the sporting goods department manager and Russell were so well coordinated and left me with a renewed sense of admiration for organization that works. To top it off the manager also added an extra 12 bags in addition to the 250 that the Mission was paying for.
The volunteer force - the enthusiasm was infectious and responses were all in such a positive vein. i felt enthused and responsible to all of them to make for a positive experience. So in the setup with EHC I was glad to hear their willingness to allow us to be part of the distribution process. this i think was a unique experience for all of the kids and volunteers [mostly bala vihar Mothers]. It gave us the extra moment to dwell on the sorry state of these individuals at the homeless shelter - Kalyani started talking up the folks over there and had identified the need for a bagged lunch drop off that was an unfilled area.
The bagged lunch sewa - the continuing activity as a result of this one coordinated sleeping bag distribution event at the Sunnyvale Armory.
In conclusion, never a dull moment in life, that's the goal for 2009 and beyond. December 2008 was refreshingly a nice launch into activities such as this one in 2009.
Pay forward for a friend and send a smile forward.

With Obama taking the reins in 10 days, there is hope....