I was unaware of the healing powers of sharing until I began therapy work with my dogs, and this led me to hospice work, and work with the very needy refugees, and my deep and rich work at the Mansion Assisted Care Facility.

I have always understood that doing good does not make me good, or superior to anyone. It is inherently selfish, I do it because it feels good, and because it heals me and leads me closer to the spiritual life I have always wanted.

I tell my friends in distress that there is nothing better that they can to feel better than to share with others. According to the Kabbalah, everything we do in the world – whether it’s work or family or help for the poor – can be infused with a yearning for transformation and fulfillment. This is what I’ve discovered with my small acts of great kindness.

This is, I believe, what defines a truly spiritual person, and this is one of the measures by which my actions and beliefs can be understood, by me and by others. My physical and outward actions are tied to my soul.

I felt this strongly today when I went to the Mansion to read to the residents there. I brought Kate a pair of warm flannel pajamas, I saw she has few warm clothes. Last week, I brought her a beautiful afghan to keep her warm, both sent me by soldiers in the Army Of Good.  I groan a bit at some of the things people send me,  there are boxes all over the place, but most of the time I eventually find a need for it.

Kate loves to see Red and we try to visit every few days. She loves her flannel pajamas and afghan and she loves to see Red.

I brought Tim, recovering from his leg amputation, a box of watercolor pencils and a big pad for him to draw on, he has been wanting this for a long time. I brought Matt, a passionate reader with eye trouble, a large print John Clancy book.

Tomorrow, I’m bringing Chinese food to everyone on the Mansion staff, to honor their very hard work during the recent Mansion crisis.

Today, I read to a dozen residents, one a book of short stories for the elderly. I also had some great fun with a surprising book, a novel called An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene  Tursten. The book is quite different from the usual fare the residents read – gentle, sometimes saccharin stories, very safe and mild. I wanted to shock and stimulate them a bit, get them to think.

The novel, a very funny international best seller, is about an irascible 88-year-0ld woman with no family, no friends, and no qualms about eliminating bad people who commit evil, and the gumption to do it. Maud lives in Sweden and the book details her sometimes murderous adventures, including her close friendship with two police detectives who never suspect her because she is just an old lady.

The book is light, and full of laughs. There are also a few bodies.

There are five short stories in the book, and I asked the residents if they wanted me to read it. They sure did. We entered into a sweet and mystical conspiracy together, their eyes lit up in wonder at the idea that an 88-year-old woman living alone could be so conniving and powerful.

I wanted to read a story that showed the elderly – especially older women – in a position of power, for once. They were very interested. People who have so little power over their lives now were transfixed by the adventures of Maud and her audacity.

I saw those wide and eager eyes and plunged in, I read the first half of one story, and promised to read next week to finish it. I’ve never read anything that so many people at the Mansion paid rapt attention to. “You better come back next week to finish this story,” said Madeline. I will.

Everyone single one of the people sitting in a circle around me asked me to stay today to finish the story, they wanted to know everything about Maud. But I stuck to my guns and said I would be back on Tuesday to finish the story, and perhaps read another one.

I didn’t see one tired face or witness a yawn. They followed every word.

I then read another story from a book I found online called A Loving Voice: A Caregiver’s Book Of Read-Aloud Stories For the Elderly. The stories are short and engaging and the residents ask for them and talk about them. They loved “Some Games My Mother Played,” by Michael Dirda. It was about a mother who played hilarious jokes on her twelve children and who won sewing machines for each of her daughters in various contests.

There was a lot of laughter. It is a precious thing for me to read to the residents. I love doing it, I love making that connection with them. They love to be read to, it is calming and grounding for them. It is an immensely satisfying thing to do.

I know that one or two of the residents can’t follow my stories, but they sit back and listen to my words, it comforts them.

And I thought again about the Kabbalah, which teaches that the highest level of striving is for transformation – for turning the desire to receive for myself  alone into the desire to receive for the purpose of sharing.

Many of you have been so kind as to write to me about the transformation you see in me in recent years. If that is true, this is what it is about,  I believe, this idea of sharing for others.

And it has just begun, I have so far to go. It is, for me, the path to true spirituality, even if I understand I will never quite get there.

Today, I got the new Mansion Residents list for those of who are meaning to write letters to the residents, which they dearly love to receive. you can write them c/o The Mansion 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Please don’t write or message me to ask if the residents have received your mail or plan to answer. I can’t keep track of that, and I’m also not allowed to, it is a violation of their privacy The only reward here is in the doing. I don’t wish to put any kind of pressure on the residents, they answer the letters if they can. They very much enjoy getting them reading them, but many are impaired and can’t respond.

Our letters program has gone a long way towards alleviating the feelings of many of the residents that they have been forgotten or left behind.

Here is the list of Mansion residents who wish to receive messages as of 2/18/19. Winnie, Ellen, Matt, Mary, Gerry, Sylvie, Alice, Jean, Madeline, Helen, Barbara, Alanna, Linda, Peggie, Dottie, Tim, Art, Wayne, Kate, Ruth.

If you care to contribute to my Mansion Fund, you can donate via Paypal, [email protected] or by check: Jon Katz, Mansion Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Thanks.