Simple Joys

For me one of the simplest joys in life is my time spent preparing the soup for The Gathering's weekly soup kitchen and then serving the soup later in the evening. I really value the time and space as I prepare the soup and enjoy thinking about the folk who will be receiving it. There's something very therapeutic about it all and this is topped off by the joy of seeing our regulars each week and hearing a bit about what they've been up to. It's also great to meet a few new people each week.

I was particularly touched by one guy who has been coming for a few weeks because he came to me at the end held out his hand and just said "I want to thank you". I've often found the poorest and most vulnerable to be some of the politest and most respectful people one can meet.