Is There Really Such A Thing As 'Pro-active Therapy'

This past weekend I attended and gave my own physical support to a free volunteer rally where several avenues of outreach were represented. Our group was a pet adoption group, that helps to save animals from 'kill shelters' and give the pets a new home and life all over again. Overall it was a good event, but two groups really got my attention; a free store that works on an exchange policy, you are asked to bring a useable household item into the store and you can then exchange it for something you could use.

The second group works with families who are stable and working but currently live in a shelter, this organization acts as a guide in their migration period of owning their own new home.

Haven't had much luck in replacing my 'talk' therapist, distance in travel and outrageous fees have not made it a walk in the park for me either. So my current thought pattern is wanting to become a volunteer to a civic organization in exchange for some free therapy. Has anyone else tried this avenue of healing and recovery? If you have, please share with me the outcome good or bad, I will appreciate it.

Through my place of day-to-day work I volunteer at Special Olympics for two whole days and every summer I volunteer at 'Loaves and Fishes' a fourteen county food distribution center. This year I will also be working in nineteen rose garden for senior citizens all over three counties.

Of course the real element of taking on something new is to limit myself and not go totally OCD and then put my family relations on the back burner. Personal safety is a major concern when going to places such as this because of the violent and unsafe nature of the neighborhoods, so I am always aware of my surroundings and the people who cross my path. Keeping daily activities in balance takes practice as many of YOU know extremely well so that is the reason for me wanting to share this idea with you.

All comments, thoughts and opinions will be well received and appreciated. 

Greetings UserANONYMOUS ~~~

Thank you for your thoughts and comments.

When my daughters became high school students, the need to volunteer came knocking on my door and I answered it willingly. Our combined volunteer efforts did some remarkable things for the school. I took the total and complete plunge and eventually would work at every event venue in city. The hours could be long and quite brutal but I got to see the best entertainment and made decent money doing so. But being able to shake hands and meet the cross section of people that I did at these events was priceless.

At the age of three my parents tossed me out as garbage and I became a ward of the state. Raised by nuns and taught in a Catholic school of strict order and immediate discipline. So I have found; that when you have nothing, you have the most to give. Which is difficult to grasp if all you know is a material world, but when things or the desire for more things do not weigh you down, you see things different or at least I do.

Doing volunteer work has always given me something in return, a new friend or associate, a fresh idea or maybe just a nice carefree chat between two like minded people and sometimes even an opportunity to make some money. But I am a person who chooses to do a task whole-heartedly or not at all.

Rose gardening became an obsession for me as a new homeowner and I now maintain a garden that covers close to an acre and a half and it is a place of total peace and joy for me and my neighbors. So I now donate my time and skill onto the gardens of senior citizens who do not mind a little work. Watching them get both hands in the dirt and forget about life for awhile is a beautiful event to behold.

But for me therapy, must be more than just sitting in a room at the tune of $150 out of pocket fees. So until I can find a good talk therapist I will coexist and be good to others all around me, wanting nothing in return. But when I am rewarded with a kind word or a smile, I do cartwheels inside and feel good about who I am.