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another person make that journey, you also heal part of yourself." There are professional benefits to this type of giving, as well. "On a professional level, I think it's safe to say that working with torture survivors does carry into my work with other clients," she says. "Hopefully it has enhanced my sensitivity and mindfulness with them and helped me to remember, again and again, the importance of being highly present and aware in every interaction I have with them." In reality, she says, most people have experienced some kind of trauma in their lives, even if it's not as intense and horrific as being tortured. "So the goal of bodywork can be similar. You're still helping people reconnect with, and be more at home in, their bodies." When it comes to volunteering, Morgan says it helps push her out of a state of complacency. "I'm grateful for the chance to at least try to be part of the solution … In fact, I think I get as much, if not more, out of working with this population than the people receiving treatment." Therapists who work with trauma clients need to be ready and trained for certain things, Morgan says. "To a certain degree, I think you have to be willing to examine your own inner barriers and fears, because this work can really throw you some curve balls in that way." Yet, Morgan says that's what also makes the work interesting. "It brings you face to face with people who are in a really difficult and wounded place, and you get to accompany them and hopefully help them make the transition back to wholeness." Ultimately, she says, you must have compassion for the people and passion for the work. "I have found a real joy in working with this population. Clients are often incredibly grateful and it's just very moving to build that trust with them and be part of their healing process. As with most endeavors, the degree of risk and intensity involved in this work is usually commensurate with the rewards it brings. So while it can be very challenging, what you get back in return can be truly transformative and amazing." Regardless where charitable service is given, there is compensation, tenfold, for the giver. For recipients, the gift can impact lives in so many ways. Yet, ultimately it's the compassion and humanity the gift represents that make it so powerful. Maybe this is your time to contribute. Stop, take a moment, look inside, and see if there's something you can give back to the world. You might just change a life—even your own. Massage & Bodywork magazine. Contact her at karrie@abmp.com. Karrie Osborn is contributing editor for NOTE 1. William Harbaugh, Ulrich Mayr, and Daniel Burghart, "Neural Responses to Taxation and Voluntary Giving Reveal Motives for Charitable Donations," Science, 316, no. 5831 (June 2007): 1622–25. "Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain." Helen Keller Volunteer Susan Lallak brings joy to her clients at the Abbie Hunt Bryce Home for the Terminally Ill. visit massageandbodywork.com to access your digital magazine 91