This is the backstory. I’m 82 years old and have danced with death twice. I loved teaching and retired from teaching a couple of years ago. I spend my time now writing, assisting my family in Myanmar, and taking care of Ginger, my Irish Setter, who is quickly catching up to me in her dog age.

Over the years, I have accumulated several idiosyncrasies. While I’m easy-going, I don’t kowtow to people telling me how I should act from their perspective. I really don’t enjoy watching ads for costly prescription drugs that feature several dozen people dancing around, having nothing to do with the medication. I’m more engaged in living life due to having led death on the dancefloor of life. I know my clock is ticking. Therefore, I don’t sit around wasting time until I croak. That is who I am in a nutshell.

Ginger and I watch TV during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I try to ignore ads between news programs, old movies, or educational programming. Really. The mute button is used all the time.

However, one commercial on TV caught my attention. It wasn’t glitzy, and there weren’t any dancers dancing around inanely. It featured regular young adults interacting with other regular kids attending schools in Chicago. I don’t know the cost of the ad, but it was a pittance compared to the pharma ads with people dancing around.

What struck me is that of all the ads on TV, it was the only one that resonated with me. I watch and listen to it wherever it appears. I was so moved by that ad that I googled it. The organization is City Year. This is what pops up.

City Year’s task is to motivate students beyond their educational status quo mindsets. There are over 250 City Year AmeriCorps members working in 31 different schools across six neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago. They help more than 15,000 students attending Chicago schools.

This is a list of some of City Year’s accomplishments.

Watch the City Year ad.

The commercial ends with this haunting question, “Do you see you?” On your journey down the yellow brick road of life, do you see you helping others?

This is my addition to that question. I agree that we need to be committed to reaching out to others. In this recent essay, When Facing Failure, I mentioned discovering a part of my family while touring Myanmar. My family is facing many problems in that developing country that is ruled by a military dictatorship. What would you do if you found a part of your family? You would do the same thing I am doing by assisting them financially so they can survive. That is a given.

However, I came up with my one-liner years ago: “It is giving that we get.” When we reach out to help others, they obviously benefit, but so do you. The more we give of our time, talent, or treasures, the more we receive.

I wish that the State Department had granted my family Diversity Immigrant Visas (DV). They would have my home and a new beginning. That didn’t happen, and I have to face the fact that my utopian dream was dashed.

Often, our hopes to care for others aren’t fully realized. Nonetheless, we can still care for and assist others. Both the giver and receiver benefit.