~ SERVING OTHERS ~
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"It is one of the most beautiful
compensations of life, that no man can
sincerely try to help another without
helping himself."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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I'm not sure when I learned about giving
service to others ... it seems like a
long time ago. There's a feeling one
gets deep inside when we do something to
help others that makes us know we want
to keep that feeling coming forever.
I believe our Higher Powers give us
certain gifts. Maybe they're all put in
a large bag and when we're born, HP
distributes them ... sort of like one
reaches in a grab bag at parties. I do
know that everyone I have ever met has
some soft of gift ... something that
they do that comes easily and becomes
something they get very good at
doing. When they start giving others
this gift, they get even better at doing
what they do ... and that "feeling"
inside begins to grow.
I was given three gifts: music,
listening to others and writing. Music
was the first gift I was aware of and I
spent my life sharing it. In adulthood I
learned I had another gift ~ the gift of
being able to listen. I realized that a
lot of people don't feel "heard." When I
spent my time listening to others, I
realized I was giving them a gift. Now I
get that same special feeling I had when
I performed in front of many people as I
quietly sit and listen to someone pour
out their heart to me. Finally, there
came a time when I began to write... and
that same feeling emerged when someone
would tell me that what I wrote made a
difference to them.
I belong to an organization where
hundreds of people give their gifts to
others each day and I finally learned
that there were reasons why so many
people devote so much of their lives to
service. It doesn't take a rocket
scientist to figure that out ... we
serve because we experience that
feeling. We serve because it makes us
feel good. We serve others because in
doing so we serve ourselves.
ONE DAY AT A TIME . . .
Let me continue to serve.