Don't wait.

Prosperity depends more on wanting what you have than having what you want. Abert F. Geoffrey

I used to think we live in a time of contradictions. In one basket we have enormous opportunity riding beside a bucketful of enormous scarcity in our world. One half living the dream, the other side falling off the margins of prosperity, sinking into the quagmire of scarcity, lack and poverty.

That isn't a contradiction, however. It is the way of the world. The yin/yang of our duality. The light and dark side of the universe.

Have and have nots. Rich and poor. Rising. Falling. Constricting. Contracting. Breathing In. Breathing Out. Inhaling. Exhaling. Living. Dying. Here and now. Dead and gone.

Last night, I went to a fundraiser for The Mully Children's Family Children's Foundation, (MCFCF) an African orhpanage supported by Careforce International. As part of the evening, the Mully Children's Family Mission Choir sang and danced, performed karate, drummed and told stories of their lives.

The children in the Choir are all former street children of Nairobi and other parts of Kenya. Their lives, prior to coming to the mission were filled with despair, with lack, with poverty, disease, abuse and death. They promised to be short lives. Death has a way of ending misery on the streets in Africa.

As one young girl said, "If I hadn't been rescued I'd have become a prostitute. I'd be dead."

MCF currently works with 2010 children at the Family Mission. Founded by one man, Charles Mulli, who had a dream of honouring and protecting the lives of Africa's children to create a better world, the Family rehabilitates lives through Feeding, Educating, Empowering and Loving the children.

It was an amazing evening.

Twenty young African boys and girls ranging in age from 12 to 16 danced and sang their hearts out. "We're not here to entertain you," said Charles Mulli in his address. "We're here to educate you and inspire you. It is our stories that are important. Our stories are filled with hope and the belief we can create a better world."

Beside me sat a man who in October went on a ten day trip with thirty-eight other volunteers to help the Mission. "We were all medical people," he told me. "But many of us worked in the fields, built things, cleaned and helped out where ever we could." The oldest volunteer was eight-seven. One woman, about seventy-five, told him. "I've waited all my life to do something like this. If I had one piece of advice it would be 'do it sooner'. Don't wait."

Don't wait.

To make a difference. To balance the imbalance in our world. To shift the yin/yang. To open doors to opportunity. To open minds to learning. Hearts to loving. Don't wait.

The man beside me was a medic. He works with a firehall team, answering the call of suffering where ever it appears in our city.

He was humble. "Did the trip change you?" I asked him.

"Not really," he said. "The stories of the children. They hurt. They touched me. And, in spite of all they've been through, their hope, their happiness, joy was overwhelming." He talked about how they were starved for help. How, when offered help, they eagerly took it. They knew they couldn't do it alone. "They really reminded me of my people," he said. "Like the First Nation's people, they are all about family and community. No one is alone."

When he came back from Africa he realized he didn't have to go half way around the world to volunteer. He could make a difference right here in his own back yard. He started volunteering at a native community centre. "I do everything and anything they ask," he laughed. "Cleaning bathrooms. Fixing windows. Painting walls. I do it all."

Perhaps it is a lesson we can all learn from. I know at the agency where I work, volunteers are vital. Volunteers extend the services we provide and help us reach the people who need us most.

If you haven't yet looked at a place near home where you can make a difference, I encourage you to do it now. Check it out. Call your local Volunteer group (most major cities have one). Call your YMCA or YWCA. Call your United Way office -- go online and you can usually fill out the application form.

Get involved.

Get volunteering.

Get into the habit of making a difference where ever you are by reaching out and giving of yourself. In giving we receive the greatest gift of all -- the sense of being involved. Of being part of creating a better world all around us.

Don't wait.

Nameste.