UUP Spotlight: Mary Thompson, Chapter Assistant
First published in September 2012 edition of The Bullhorn. The original publication can be found here.
Last semester, I was a nervous wreck. The chapter intern position was my first attempt at an internship, the foot-in-the-door for career opportunities outside of college, and I had no idea what to expect. I certainly did not expect the cheerful greeter just beyond the UUP office doors. I cannot say how much I was pleasantly surprised.
Mary Thompson, the chapter assistant and the face of the UUP office, extends her sunshine past the large office doors. Her open arms to friendly passerbys and frequenters of the Lecture Center basement gives her the rightful title of “The Heart of the Union,” no matter how much she questions it.
So what makes our Chapter Assistant smile? How does Mary turn the otherwise desolate basement level of the Lecture Center into a cheerful hall and transform the chilly UUP office into a warm, cozy home?
Growing up in the tavern business was “one of the gifts [she] was given.” Her mother, in particular, is a shining influence on her near unlimited capacity for sympathy and empathy, taking care of many customers late into the night. For many years, Mary constantly tried to separate herself from her mother and her youth in the tavern, but in the end, what her youthful self tried to avoid were the strongest influences on her life.
Losing her father at age nine fueled a strong-willed nature that propelled her through her adolescence and young adulthood. While her sister was a straight-A student, Mary set her own path as an athletic go-getter, pursuing nearly every sport except swimming, afraid to reveal her naturally-curly hair. At twenty years old, Mary packed up her bags and left New York City to live on the other side of the world: India.
Why India? Living in the city, a group in her yoga class introduced ideas of living with a guru and finding oneself through a spiritual experience. Driven to figure out exactly who she was and who she wanted to be, other than a devoted wife and mother, Mary saved a mere $750, $350 of which went towards an open ticket for a year, and set off on her way. After backpacking from Istanbul through warring Arabic nations to her destination, she lived with a holy man, a guru named Ramdas, who told her she was a Christian at heart. Unable to avoid her tavern background, she eventually became the head cook at an ashram named Nani Tau at the Hanuman Temple in Northern India.
A year later, her experience comes full circle, arriving where she left. Just before leaving New York City, a neighbor told Mary that she did not need to go to India to find herself: her identity was inside all along, available for self-reflection. Returning to the States, she replied to his advice: “he was right.”
Instead of India, Mary found her answers in Practical Philosophy, founded in 1964 in New York City and now has various locations throughout the United States. Shortly after her trip, a woman walking her dog enticed her to just go, giving hardly any information of exactly what the course was about. The random tip was worthwhile, and “every word that came out of [the lecturer’s] mouth was a gem.” Her personal uncertainty dissipated. What drives her to this day is a wisdom unearthed by this school of thought, carefully removed and reflecting on the all-consuming hectic everyday lifestyle. “You often go on a day-to-day basis and you got to do what you got to do, and there’s no real presence, no real connection to what you’re doing… It’s a matter of coming under some discipline [and making] life more harmonious and happy.” Practical Philosophy offers her such a discipline and harmonious existence. Through an array of jobs, including the diamond district in New York City, the restaurant industry she wanted to avoid in her youth, a part-time job at New Paltz town hall, and her ten years here as Chapter Assistant, she remains faithful to the School of Practical Philosophy, attending various lectures and giving volunteer time as food coordinator for nearly fifteen retreats a year. She is currently working on a cookbook based on her recipes created for the retreats called “The Philosopher’s Table”.
One word, recently-explored in a lecture held by the School of Practical Philosophy, sums up Mary’s peaceful, self-reflective outlook on life and her work at the SUNY New Paltz Chapter of the UUP: gratitude. She has a beautiful relationship with her daughter, Rose, who lives right down the road and often leaves her children at grandma’s house while continuing her education: “an excellent treat” in the doting mother’s eyes. She has a similarly peaceful relationship in the union. Dually appreciative of the work union members undertake and grateful that she does not need to engage in the politic and decision-making of the organization, she is able to extend the sympathy and empathy taught to her by her mother so many years ago in the tavern.
As I am writing this piece, only a week into my internship, I still hear Mary Thompson’s cheerful hello down the hall and feel the warmth of her greeting hug from moments ago. As the “Heart of the Union”, her motherly care extends to the SUNY New Paltz Chapter of the UUP. For her, “it’s a sense of working for a family. [Working for the union expands] your sense of family to something much larger, which is beautiful.” With the same tender care for her daughter and volunteer work, she blesses the union with the touch of compassion that counteracts all the tough, angry politics of day-to-day union business. She gives the union a sense of family; that is definitely something beautiful.
Mary Thompson, the chapter assistant and the face of the UUP office, extends her sunshine past the large office doors. Her open arms to friendly passerbys and frequenters of the Lecture Center basement gives her the rightful title of “The Heart of the Union,” no matter how much she questions it.
So what makes our Chapter Assistant smile? How does Mary turn the otherwise desolate basement level of the Lecture Center into a cheerful hall and transform the chilly UUP office into a warm, cozy home?
Growing up in the tavern business was “one of the gifts [she] was given.” Her mother, in particular, is a shining influence on her near unlimited capacity for sympathy and empathy, taking care of many customers late into the night. For many years, Mary constantly tried to separate herself from her mother and her youth in the tavern, but in the end, what her youthful self tried to avoid were the strongest influences on her life.
Losing her father at age nine fueled a strong-willed nature that propelled her through her adolescence and young adulthood. While her sister was a straight-A student, Mary set her own path as an athletic go-getter, pursuing nearly every sport except swimming, afraid to reveal her naturally-curly hair. At twenty years old, Mary packed up her bags and left New York City to live on the other side of the world: India.
Why India? Living in the city, a group in her yoga class introduced ideas of living with a guru and finding oneself through a spiritual experience. Driven to figure out exactly who she was and who she wanted to be, other than a devoted wife and mother, Mary saved a mere $750, $350 of which went towards an open ticket for a year, and set off on her way. After backpacking from Istanbul through warring Arabic nations to her destination, she lived with a holy man, a guru named Ramdas, who told her she was a Christian at heart. Unable to avoid her tavern background, she eventually became the head cook at an ashram named Nani Tau at the Hanuman Temple in Northern India.
A year later, her experience comes full circle, arriving where she left. Just before leaving New York City, a neighbor told Mary that she did not need to go to India to find herself: her identity was inside all along, available for self-reflection. Returning to the States, she replied to his advice: “he was right.”
Instead of India, Mary found her answers in Practical Philosophy, founded in 1964 in New York City and now has various locations throughout the United States. Shortly after her trip, a woman walking her dog enticed her to just go, giving hardly any information of exactly what the course was about. The random tip was worthwhile, and “every word that came out of [the lecturer’s] mouth was a gem.” Her personal uncertainty dissipated. What drives her to this day is a wisdom unearthed by this school of thought, carefully removed and reflecting on the all-consuming hectic everyday lifestyle. “You often go on a day-to-day basis and you got to do what you got to do, and there’s no real presence, no real connection to what you’re doing… It’s a matter of coming under some discipline [and making] life more harmonious and happy.” Practical Philosophy offers her such a discipline and harmonious existence. Through an array of jobs, including the diamond district in New York City, the restaurant industry she wanted to avoid in her youth, a part-time job at New Paltz town hall, and her ten years here as Chapter Assistant, she remains faithful to the School of Practical Philosophy, attending various lectures and giving volunteer time as food coordinator for nearly fifteen retreats a year. She is currently working on a cookbook based on her recipes created for the retreats called “The Philosopher’s Table”.
One word, recently-explored in a lecture held by the School of Practical Philosophy, sums up Mary’s peaceful, self-reflective outlook on life and her work at the SUNY New Paltz Chapter of the UUP: gratitude. She has a beautiful relationship with her daughter, Rose, who lives right down the road and often leaves her children at grandma’s house while continuing her education: “an excellent treat” in the doting mother’s eyes. She has a similarly peaceful relationship in the union. Dually appreciative of the work union members undertake and grateful that she does not need to engage in the politic and decision-making of the organization, she is able to extend the sympathy and empathy taught to her by her mother so many years ago in the tavern.
As I am writing this piece, only a week into my internship, I still hear Mary Thompson’s cheerful hello down the hall and feel the warmth of her greeting hug from moments ago. As the “Heart of the Union”, her motherly care extends to the SUNY New Paltz Chapter of the UUP. For her, “it’s a sense of working for a family. [Working for the union expands] your sense of family to something much larger, which is beautiful.” With the same tender care for her daughter and volunteer work, she blesses the union with the touch of compassion that counteracts all the tough, angry politics of day-to-day union business. She gives the union a sense of family; that is definitely something beautiful.
