Caravan of the Heart: how good is volunteering for us?

VolunteeringVolunteering is an activity of help and service carried out ... More means committing to doing good for others. But how good is it for us as well? And how useful is it for everyone, even for the youngest? We talk about it with Ariadne Rossetti, psychologist and systemic-relational psychotherapist in training, specialized in working with adolescents, young adults and families, who has been a volunteer for six years with the Caravan of the Heart of Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti, the awareness campaign that spreads along the beaches and streets of Italy an invitation to authentic relationships, mutual support and living passionately.

Why do you choose to take part every year in the Caravan of the Heart of Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti?

I have always been struck by the idea of being able to contribute and to do something for the community in general, in small ways but also in big ones. With the Caravan of the Heart I discovered that, in fact, taking care of others is a bit like taking care of yourself. A whole new world opened up to me.

I have now been participating in the Caravan of the Heart for six years. It is a time for awareness, of course, but it is also time for myself: to get to know myself, to meet myself through the eyes of all the people, who in some way represent me and whom in a certain sense I represent. Every time I return home, my way of working changes and my well-being increases, because there is a real exchange with people. Every time I come back enriched.

This flows into the people I meet in my work, because during my days I listen to many life stories, many different people. The more things and experiences I have had in life, the greater my ability to understand, comprehend, help and support others.

Has this experience brought benefits both to your profession and to your personal life?

Certainly over the years, also thanks to this experience with the Caravan of the Heart, I have become a better person and also a better professional. This year, for the first time, my boyfriend also came along. We shared this experience together and it was wonderful, because now we understand each other; now he also knows what it is. Words were no longer needed, because he too understood what it means to wake up every day with a purpose. This goal is, yes, for others, for awareness, but it is also entirely yours: you go there for yourself as well. And it is beautiful how going there for yourself leads to these magical encounters that happen every time, every hour, every minute.

Do you have any anecdotes about the special moments you experienced?

I would have so many. Once, for example, I felt embarrassed to go and talk to people who were having lunch. I was afraid of disturbing them. I felt blocked.

However, as a group of volunteers we have tools. For example, we practice the One Minute Meditation technique by Patrizio Paoletti. We stop and meditate all together. You always feel supported by the other people who, like you, are doing the same thing and have the same purpose, the same idea of raising awareness and also bringing home a wealth of personal enrichment.

We are together, a collective, a team is created. In the most difficult moments, we pause for a moment and say to ourselves: “Ok, there is a lot of embarrassment, there are many emotions, but what do you want, how did you start this morning?”. In this way, we reorganize our thoughts and do the minute of meditationThere are many ways to define meditation, but perhaps the si... More. Then many things are released, many fears melt away and calm down.

After the great initial embarrassment of that day and the fear of disturbing those having lunch, I enter this restaurant and speak to the people at the first table, who welcome me with joy and say yes. The second table also says yes: they get involved and donate as well. At a certain point we turn around and look at each other, among us volunteers: all the tables had said yes and everyone was wearing the orange bracelets with our motto: Vivi appassionatamente.

The owner said to me: “Wow, you transformed my dining room: what can I do for you?”. In the end, he donated and also offered us lunch. It was beautiful, the whole narrative truly changed, but not only our narrative of what was happening, the reality outside changed.

This year something special happened as well. I was about to take a lunch break, but I felt the desire to finish the morning with a good yes. I start talking with a few people and I turn around because I hear someone calling me: “Miss, miss!”. A 14-year-old boy was running after me with a banknote in his hand. He told me that he also wanted to participate for the well-being of adolescents, that he had seen me passing by the umbrella next to his, where his aunt was. He had listened to the conversation and wanted to take part, contribute and also wanted to wear the orange bracelet.

Another time I met a lady who already had our bracelet, but it was completely flat and worn out: the writing could no longer be read. She told me that she had been donating for ten years and in the end it was actually me who gave her a new bracelet: a symbol to renew the mission of living passionately.

Beautiful testimonies of true human magic. What is a typical day like in the Caravan of the Heart?

We all wake up together, have breakfast, do a meditative practice, perhaps also with a bit of prefiguration, share a reading that supports us during the day and aligns us with the tools and resources we will carry with us. Then we set off. Each person has a team leader who knows the area well, each team has its own reference area. On the beaches, everyone has their own row. You can therefore see this group dressed in orange flooding the beach and moving and flowing like a river.

They move from umbrella to umbrella, together, because we try to always stay close, maintaining a common rhythm, so that we can see each other and support one another. And this is what makes the difference: we lift our gaze and see that we are all together, each with their own way, each with their own uniqueness. But in the end what we are doing is one single thing. Each of us is important, each of us can make a difference.

What does the slogan Vivi appassionatamente mean to you?

Living passionately means reminding myself every day that I am alive and that it is a new day. It means reminding myself every day that I have a great opportunity. And this is very important to me.

In your opinion, what motivates people to donate and wear the orange bracelet?

People feel that there is something different and special in what we are saying. They feel that there is a concrete possibility to contribute, they see that there is hope for unity, the possibility to be there, to be part of this whole, because we are not alone. And so they take part.

You mentioned that we are not alone. As a mental health and helping relationship professional, what do you think about loneliness and isolation nowadays?

Today we live in contexts and conditions that increasingly lead us to feel isolated. We can even come to feel less of the need and call for external relationships. Yet we are human beings and, as such, it is relationships that we need. It is thanks to others that I understand who I am, where I am, how important I am. Thanks to the collective.

In this historical period and social context, loneliness is spreading. It is much easier to feel isolated from others today, because we are constantly mediated by screens, but also by performance: by what you should be. I see that there is a lot of fear of judgment and also a strong need to appear in a way that conforms to what one is supposed to be, with greater exposure to the judgment of others. Because you post a photo, a story and you are potentially under global spotlights. This creates relationship anxietyAnxiety is an emotional response characterized by feelings o... More.

And does the orange wave of the Caravan of the Heart bring attention back to quality relationships?

Yes, it breaks patterns. It goes against the current. Perhaps the first reaction of a person who sees us is defensive. They do not understand what is happening. Because deep down we are afraid of relationships, because fundamentally everyone asks for something. When they understand that we do not necessarily want something, but that we are first and foremost bringing a smile and a message, everything changes. And some people wish to participate also by donating and wearing our bracelet.

This bracelet becomes a symbol: of relationship, understanding, cooperationThe silent force that holds human groups together Cooperatio... More, authentic eye-to-eye encounters, of what in psychology is called active listening, of “I am truly here for you”. People feel understood, they feel seen. And every volunteer has their own way, their own imprint to help spread the power of relationships. We are all together but different, and this is what creates richness.

Who would you recommend this special volunteering experience with the Caravan of the Heart to?

I would recommend it to absolutely everyone, because truly there is no one who could not benefit from it. Even the most introverted person, even someone who feels very angry or disappointed, anyone could truly benefit from it. And I would recommend it to all those who have lost a bit of hope in the collective, who are afraid of rejection or who feel alone. Because it is truly a powerful experience.

And then I would recommend it to every adolescent, to young adults and also to older people, because the Caravan of the Heart allows you to change perspective and step a little outside your personal dramas. Everyone experiences their life situation in the condition they are allowed and with the tools they have. Pain should never be minimized. But precisely because it should not be minimized, it is important to put yourself in the position – sometimes even by pushing yourself a little – to open up a completely different perspective from the one we normally have about our life.

The Caravan of the Heart shifts you, moves you away from routine, from your conditions, from your story. It takes you to someone else’s story, to the story of another region. And it makes you feel useful. And we all need to feel useful, to feel that our life has meaning, that it is important. A volunteering experience leaves a mark, it is a seed that blossoms over time.

If you would like to take part in the Caravan of the Heart and in the volunteering and awareness activities of Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti, visit the page Cosa puoi fare. Each of us is important and can make a difference.