Focusing On What They Need - #MaxicanFood Episode 22

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About ten months ago, I felt a strong desire to feed homeless people in my community. I was eager and willing to help others escape their situations of constantly being hungry; the only issue was that I had prioritized my own self-interests above the needs of my city's homeless population. This was made clear to me when I embarked on an adventure to Central Park in Huntington Beach to hand out sack lunches to homeless people in need. I had prepared a handful of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (my favorite food of all time) in addition to some fruit and water. As I spent multiple hours on a Saturday morning strolling around the park, I noticed that this was taking much longer than I had expected. It wasn't until one man rejected my free food that I realized where I had gone wrong; my target market needed more than a sack lunch. These people who I had intended to help flat out didn't want what I wanted to give them. It was my job to better understand how I could help these people to the greatest extent possible, albeit with the limited resources I had available. Now it all made sense. My time was much better utilized learning how to effectively support homeless people rather than spending that time helping them how I wanted to. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich may be the cream of the crop in my eyes, but it fell flat to my target audience; and if I intended to help these people, then I hadn't succeeded.

Oftentimes I find myself wanting to help others, as I think many of us do. At the most basic level, I believe this is inherently human; at certain moments in our lives we desire to see others benefit from our actions. This, whether or not I like to admit it, seems to derive more from my need to feel valuable to others rather than purely wanting to put someone else's needs before my own. At the root of it, this may seem selfish; but in my opinion, this is perfectly fine. This is mainly because I believe there is a major difference between acting selfishly and pursuing happiness.

I am not here to argue that we should not be happy. On the contrary, I acknowledge that happiness is necessary in order to deliver value to the world. In fact, studies show this to be the case. Therefore, the point I am attempting to make is that there is a way that we can act in our own interests while simultaneously impacting others in a positive way. When our primary goals are centered around the success and joy of others, we are naturally rewarded when our actions generate the best possible outcome for those people. In this way, we are able to create a paradoxical system of success for everyone we encounter, because our own happiness is now tied to our ability to see others revel in the joy they receive through our intentional actions. This is the desired win-win situation we should strive for in all aspects of life, and today I aimed to display this through a quick gesture of giving.

Foothill Family Shelter, like many non-profit organizations, makes it easy for people like me to effectively donate to their cause. They publish a list of needed items that are specifically noted by the families they care for. As someone who aims to make the largest impact possible with my limited amount of resources, this is the jackpot.

Today presented me with the opportunity to showcase how we can effectively and efficiently impact others' lives in a positive way. I am grateful for Foothill Family Shelter for making that possible, and I look forward to continuing to find ways to help others while simultaneously supporting myself.

Thanks for watching Episode 22. See you next time!

#MaxicanFood is my attempt at creating and sustaining positive change in my community. Though this initiative may seem simple and random in nature, my intention is to bring awareness to friends, strangers, and myself on multiple levels. On the surface level, I focus on encouraging others to be thoughtful and caring towards their neighbors, no matter how big or how small the act. I believe this is an essential component to building a strong community of caring individuals who are always seeking to find ways to support those around them. Digging deeper, I aim to encourage intelligent ways of giving. In all honesty, I don’t think giving someone a chocolate shake on a Tuesday evening is making a huge impact on that individual. In fact, there are multiple reports that point to this behavior being detrimental to the individual as well as to the community as a whole. On the other hand, I believe there are ways that we can implement simple gestures of giving in a manner that benefits the receiver. Therefore, I use #MaxicanFood as a testing grounds where I am able to try different tactics in an attempt to discover new, forward-thinking ways of giving that genuinely benefits others in an impactful way. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, #MaxicanFood is a platform through which I can connect with people as I aim to understand and thoroughly enjoy the life that I have been given. Whether this be through face-to-face interaction with the recipients of my food donations, or via Instagram messages from friends who took time out of their day to watch what I have to share with the world, I genuinely believe the time and energy I put into this project is well worth the investment.