Was I being altruistic or was I practicing reciprocity? Do I expect something in return? No. But if my home is being breached by flood waters, do I hope someone will fill sandbags for us? Yes.
As I was sitting on some sandbags holding the bag under the inverted pilon, next to N. a Hindu immigrant from India and having the bag filled by S. a retired firefighter from West Vancouver and having it tied off by H. a Sikh farm worker and ‘comedian’ from Abbotsford, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that we belong the human family, who at their best really do know what it means to care deeply for each other, especially in times like this.