So let’s say that I’m sitting here in front of my computer and contemplating life and death and how well life has treated me over the years. Maybe it was God’s will or maybe it was just having a positive, thankful attitude as I “grew” up. Whatever it was, let’s just say that I’m sitting here feeling that life has given me many lessons over the years but in the end has brought me more happiness than sadness.

And let’s say that as i dwell on these feelings I develop an urge to give something back — something unique, helpful, and selfless.

I’m a dentist.

I was forced through crazy challenges in school to get to where I am. I’ve been through another school — the school of hard knocks — through my career, and I’ve survived. In fact I’ve become an awesome dentist because of Hard Knocks.

I need to give back, but I don’t want to give my hard earned money away anonymously to local charities that I don’t know anything about. I’m pretty content with the couple of bucks I give to my church every week or ten. My skills are too valuable to not utilize as much as I possibly can fixing people’s teeth, so I don’t have time to volunteer at the food bank.

I feel the need to give back though. Where can I apply my unique skills and knowledge to help people? Where can I do this and show them how skillful and knowledgeable I am, where these people would love me and line up to see me, where I would be “The Man” to them. El Hombre….spanish…latin….

Guatamala, Honduras, Mexico. Hmm.

Wow. I see it now! I can collect equipment and supplies from donors from whom I buy lots of stuff at my practice. I might be able to enlist some dental students to come and help out. I don’t care if I have to pay to travel and stay down south because it’s money well spent to help people. The homeless here in my town don’t need my money like these people do.

When I get down there I’ll show them how much better dentistry in Canada is than in their impoverished community. I’ll put in white fillings, save their teeth rather than pull them, use anesthetic, and wear a mask and gloves. I’ll *help* them. The line to see me will be days long. Unfortunately, as much as I’d love to help these people forever, I have to come back home to make some money. Maybe I’ll stay for a week or two.

I do wonder, though, what might happen after I leave. Might these people not want to see their tooth-pulling, painful dentist anymore? Will they wait and wait and wait for my return while losing tooth after tooth unnaturally? Will that be because they’ve lost confidence in the entire medical or dental system in their country? Would I have caused that?

There would be no lines to see their dentist and so no encouragement of the local profession to improve. I would have decreased national morale among both dentists and their patients and I might not be welcomed back again. I might single-handedly cripple an already precariously perched medical/dental system — all because I wanted to feel good about myself.

So…maybe what I’ll do instead of all of that is take my supplies and equipment and dental students and go to the local health department down there. I’ll tell them that we’re only there for a couple of weeks and we want to help. Have no doubt that we will help. We will suction, mix, clean, and offer advice to the local dentists. We will show them how to use the materials we are supplying. We will show them how we do things by allowing them to do the things themselves while we watch. This is positive, this creates growth, this is beyond ego, and is the greatest thing that we as a human can do.

But how many of us who volunteer do this? How many of us would even want to be seen as subservient to the local professional in that small community you want to help? How many of us need to grow up a bit?