Simple Living, Community, Spirituality, Social and Environmental Justice

How volunteering for Jesuit Volunteer Encorps gives me meaning in retirement

My cohorts at Jesuit Volunteer Encorps are part of why I didn’t go to bed and pull the covers over my head for the month of January. JVE is a small group of retirees who agree to volunteer at an organization or in a way that meets the values of simple living, social and environmental justice, community, and spirituality. We also meet once a month for a couple hours to discuss the external world and our response to it, which moves us from contemplation to action.

The values drew me to JVE because they are values of other organizations I have belonged to, and they resonate with me. I am not Catholic by upbringing, not Jesuit by other affiliation, nor Christian by current practice and label. Resonance with the values is a requirement.

I have admired a woman who caretakes a neighbor’s child so the neighbor can work. Other volunteers have worked at saving seeds, to create a library for gardeners of heritage seeds. Others have worked at homeless shelters.

I enter service requests on a database for senior-to-senior support for the small tasks many of us can no longer do — which might involve stepladders, arthritic hands, etc. The Village neighbor-to-neighbor support started in Beacon Hill, Boston, and is a model that has spread across the United States. I can do the data entry from home, a small task that enables us to live well in our homes with creeping physical limitations.

Simple living is often a lifestyle choice in retirement. I happily downsized and moved into an apartment. I have a small patio garden I can tend and a maintenance number to call instead of managing house repairs. I let go of my record collection and book collection and have the music and literature I love available electronically.

My communities of choice are people who write and read and go to concerts I enjoy. My companions and friends have gotten more deliberate in what we do.

This town I live in and the state of Oregon value environmental protection as a high priority, and there is work to do. I may not climb down slopes and pull invasive plants from watersheds and creeks, but I can pick up garbage along my designated neighborhood walks. This action needn’t be tabulated or organized.

In a time when transactional relationships and money and revenge seem to be markers of tolerated behavior if not success, I am surrounded by people who do simple acts of living responsibly. They live for the betterment of the community and, by extension, the betterment of our lives. It is a powerful example of a counter-narrative to the movies or other choices of what to read or watch. I read the politically-motivated changes in the news and remain informed, but I don’t read social media rants.

The posts on Crow’s Feet and other publications on this venue offer a glimpse into the unseen world — the adherence to values, generosity of spirit, and community action based on common beliefs.

I disagree with many political actions and do this in response: I support people and organizations doing what I think is the right thing. It is remarkable how many people act to support those values we share.