A life of purpose and generosity creates happiness

Marquis East resident does for others daily
4/11/2014  - Lisa Bailey
Catherine Gray finds joy and purpose in acts of charity.  

When Catherine Gray moved into the Marquis East Retirement Apartments this winter, she had to have a unit big enough to accommodate a sewing room — for her kind spirit and generous heart.

Not a day goes by that she isn’t making something for someone else. It could be warm toques for the homeless at the Inn of the Good Shepherd, quilts for the poor of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine or other countries,  and/or scarves she sells to raise money for Canadian Armed Forces veterans coping with post traumatic stress disorder with the help of a service dog.

The 80-year-old, who can remember doing acts of charity as young as age six when she knitted socks for flyers in the Second World War, says she’s the fortunate one.

“It’s so nice to get up in the morning and have something to do, to have a purpose and a good purpose,” she says. “Especially when you’re retired, you need that purpose.”

Gray can’t explain the reward she gets from her volunteerism, except to describe it as “satisfaction.”

“I have the most contented life — and I haven’t always — but living through the bad times it makes me appreciate what I have now, and it’s just like heaven on Earth,” she says.

Gray goes on to quote something she heard on TV recently then jotted down: “Money doesn’t buy happiness, generosity buys happiness,” she says. “And you know, that’s it in a nutshell.”

Tania Bergen, Steeves & Rozema’s sales and marketing director, says there are many residents like Gray living in Steeves & Rozema’s communities who do good things for others. Their acts of goodwill reflect an outlook on life that contributes to a rich quality of living.

Especially moved by Gray’s positivity, Bergen says Gray is an example of the power of an upbeat attitude. “If you keep your spirits up and you keep a positive attitude then your overall experience with your accommodation, your surroundings, your friends and everything will be a positive one,” Bergen says.

Gray has her father to thank for introducing her to volunteering, encouraging her as a young girl to help with various tasks at the family’s church. “It didn’t matter what it was, I was there helping out,” she says.

Many years later, her father spotted a notice in the church newspaper for someone to teach English, and so Gray began travelling daily from her Toronto Island home to instruct women in the city’s Chinese community. “It was quite fun,” she says.

Her other volunteer efforts have included making baby hats and blankets for hospitals in Sarnia and London. Gray discovered quilt-making through a Christian women’s organization and was so intrigued that she ended up with two sewing machines on the go at home to make squares that are stitched into quilts by a team of volunteers for distribution through missions.

Even with arthritic hands, Gray continues with this work every day as well as the knitting and crocheting items for the homeless and in support of veterans.

“The Lord has blessed me with handy hands,” says Gray, who previously created artwork.

She loves working with fabric, colours and designs and has easily parlaying that passion into the articles of comfort she creates and gives away.

“What I do is for others, and it’s just so rewarding,” Gray says. “I’m just so fortunate that I have these hands that can do these things. And the nice thing is, I’m doing things that I love.”

She has no intention of stopping, noting others have commented to her how she always seems to be smiling and happy. “That’s what (this work) does for me,” Gray says.

“Every ounce of my energy goes to these things, and I just love doing them. And I get more out of them than the people who receive whatever I make.

“I can just work away here and be happy as can be.”

This week is National Volunteer Week, dedicated to the more than 13 million Canadians like Gray who strengthen communities in some way.

If you have a story to share or feedback on this article, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 25, or e-mail lisa(at)axiomnews.ca.

   
 

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