He was merely doing his Job

I  drove in  to the emergency area  of a  renowned corporate hospital and had hardly stopped my car, when  up came the  security person and  rudely gestured  me to move out of that area.  He also blew his whistle at me as he advanced to my vehicle.   When he came close to the window, I smiled at him and asked him,  Is this a hospital or have I made a mistake?  He replied yes it is but this place is reserved  for the doctors so you better move on.  I then told him that a close relative sitting in the vehicle needed emergency care.  He said to my relative to get down and walk to the  emergency.

Again I had to intervene  and said we would need a wheel chair  since my relative could not walk due a fall.   He condescended and then asked another guard to get a wheelchair , who wheeled my relative into the ward.

I thereafter  parked my  car a safe distance away from the “ designated doctors  reserved area” and rushed to the  emergency.  In the flurry of  filling of forms and attending to my relative, the image of the  security  guard and  his authority flashed in my mind.

Here we were wanting to receive  healing and comfort from pain and the systems were just designed to  deliver the contrary.  The very first touch point of an institution whose purpose is to  reduce suffering  actually increases it.  Hospital emergency wards are where every  second is a difference between life and death.  The guard was merely doing his job.

I think there is an opportunity for such institutions to revisit their purpose and  educate all their employees and consultants to live up to their purpose and vision and truly serve their  customer!

Partnering In Miracles !

He said to His Disciples, “ Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost”.Therefore they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  John 6:12-13

This is how the Bible passage ends the narration of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand by Jesus Christ.

I observe yet another  miracle in this passage and that is the gathering of the twelve baskets. Let me tell you why I consider this a miracle.

The Disciples were asked to perform a fairly crazy task, that is to gather up  the leftovers. Usually one does not  do it as you have designated persons for this task.  They readily agreed and went about with diligently.  They gathered twelve basketfull when just an hour earlier there was absolutely no food, save for the five barley loaves and two fish.

Each and every person who was present there had been satisfied of his/her  hunger and presumably, each one had some food remaining as they couldn't eat anymore. They did not  need the  leftovers. Individually the leftovers are insignificant  but collectively they were twelve basketfull.   Each of us if we join together we can create a miracle. 

Jesus created a tremendous visual impact for all the five thousand and the disciples that evening.  The power of collective action.  That power was  twelve basketfull, several hundred times more that their own contribution.

Very often we think what we have or can do is insignificant however collaborating with disciples helps us realize this potential.  We also need to develop the willingness to let go what we do not need.

Jesus demonstrated yet another principle that  “What is blessed should not be lost”. Lets ponder how we  use our blessings.

The theme for the year  2013 World Environment Day celebrations is Think.Eat.Save. Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger.  ( Source http://www.unep.org/wed/theme/)

Given this context with such startling figures  at a macro level, we need to act at an individual level.   Our actions  are simple   

• Give what you are not using.  
• Do not throw it away or waste it.  There are several motivated disciples who will collect today.

If you are motivated like the disciples, gather what is not needed.  Share with those in need so that   “what is blessed is not lost”. We can also create miracles today.