Member-only story
What do you want out of life?
Your answer is in how you handle your excess capacity.
The story of Ruth and Boaz is a gentle love tale from the 4th BCE biblical book.¹ Overall, it is about a loyal and courageous young woman who faithfully cares for her mother-in-law, despite the deaths of all of the males in their families. The turning point in this love story happens when Boaz, a successful farmer, meets Ruth as she gleans crops he has donated for the poor from his field. In ancient Israel, gleaning was the practice allowing the poor to pick remaining grains after the fields had been harvested. Farmers would use some of their excess crop capacity to give back to those who experienced food insecurity.
¹ Ruth is the 8th book in Hebrew scriptural cannon.
In the story, Boaz learned of Ruth’s loyalty to her widowed mother-in-law. He was impressed that she had accompanied her to a different culture to care for her. From the start, Boaz took an interest in his newfound distant relative. He discovered Ruth to be a tireless worker. He instructed his harvesting crew to watch out for her and allow her to harvest grain right after their regular harvesting. Boaz arranged for Ruth to dine with his family and farming staff.
It is because of Boaz’s compassion for Ruth’s tragic plight that he wanted to marry her. He wanted to do the right thing. Their marriage would ultimately yield children and Ruth and Boaz were the ancestors of King David.
I mention this ancient love story as an example of using excess capacity to benefit others. We find our purpose, even God, in mindfulness of how we direct our own excess capacity to help others.
The pandemic has pushed most of us into a retirement-like state of being. My wife and I go grocery shopping during special senior hours, wearing masks. We stay six feet apart from others while waiting by the register. I wear latex gloves while in any store and we wash our hands and use hand sanitizer. Through these months, we’ve had only a few people visit in our home. Receiving them, we’ve all donned our masks and sat apart from one another for the conversations. I wear latex gloves when pumping gas. Conversations with our neighbors are with masks and are usually brief.
