It was a fine weekend and the weather was so tempting me to go out for a hike but I had to fulfill my promise to volunteer at the Karma Kitchen. I chose serving people over serving self for a day. Arwa, my fellow friend from Atlas Corps had recommended me to volunteer and I wanted to experience it too. At first, I was curious how it would work, how it would function and how I would serve people at the restaurant. Everything went smoothly as people started coming in for lunch.

As I understood, the kitchen runs with the people who come to have lunch at the Karma Kitchen and donate money or pay for other people to come in and have lunch next time. The $0.00 bill looks nice with the message to pay/donate for others if they wish to. The team of 19 volunteers got in to work after we had a brief orientation of what we are going to do and what role we will be having for the day. We served around 50 people on that day and all of the guests coming in looked happy as volunteers served them with the smile. The theme for the day was a meaningful connection. As people were leaving, we asked them to write down what meaningful connection mean to them.

The words which guest shared with us were amazing.

A meaningful connection to me is;

  •         An ever exchange of thoughts, ideas, and feelings
  •         When you can listen to another and understand that person in the framework of herself, rather yourself
  •         A meaningful connection is one in which both sides share, materially and emotionally
  •         Like you are not alone in the world- there are people to share your ups & downs with who care about you & your situation
  •         It is a mutual understanding and bond, sharing kindness, compassion, generosity, and strength.
  •         When it comes from the heart and given the space to grow
  •         This meaningful connection today, meant a lot to me! Walked in with the hungry stomach, was greeted with SMILEs and humble demeanor of the volunteers. Food was tasty, great, satisfied my hunger. Hopefully, my small donation can keep this kitchen going/serving for a long time.
  •         Heart expanding best if face to face but can happen even across distance. It can mean both people feel the emotion and maybe even are changed.

And for me, as a volunteer for the day, the meaningful connection was to connect with other volunteers with the similar passion to contribute to the society in spite of their busy schedule and limited resources.

Thank you Karma Kitchen for the great opportunity and for making my day worth remembering and fulfilling. I look forward to being part of it in the future too and continue growing in generosity with Karma Kitchen.