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Service
Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to undertake a task when it’s for the benefit of someone else, as opposed to doing it for your own sake? Our innate inclination towards service and altruism is a testament to our intrinsic purpose in life, which extends far beyond individual gain. We are all threads intricately woven into the tapestry of humanity, and our purpose beckons us to enrich the collective well-being of the many, not merely the self.
When we look back on our life’s legacy, it will become evident that purpose is not measured in accumulated accomplishments, but in the lasting impact left behind on the lives of others. Whose lives did we enhance? Whose destinies did we permanently alter for the better? The answer to these future questions will determine the quality and significance of our life’s purpose.
Service is not solely a selfless act; paradoxically, it is one of our most self-serving endeavors. In the act of serving others and contributing to the greater good, we, in turn, serve our own spirit. As Mohandas Gandhi wisely asserted, “the best way to find oneself is by losing oneself in the service of others.” For his lifelong dedication to seeking truth and serving others, the public bestowed upon him the honorific title Mahatma, which means Great Soul in Sanskrit.
Gandhi’s profound insight underscores the interconnectedness of all beings. We share a common metaphysical essence, and when we brighten someone’s day, their radiance reflects upon us.
Through serving others, we illuminate the soul of the world, revealing the unity that binds us all. Recognizing our core as spiritual beings, we experience a reciprocal outpouring of light and goodwill when we act selflessly. In service, we discover the profound truth that by enriching the lives of others, we, too, are enriched.
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“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
Chinese proverb
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Solutions that empower and nurture self-reliance are better than those that encourage dependency on others.
We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.
Mother Teresa
“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right.
A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice.
A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., sermon following Bloody Sunday
The grass is always greener where you water it.
Unknown
In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
Albert Schweitzer
We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill
“The supreme question about a work of art is out of how deep a life does it spring.”
James Joyce, Ulysses
No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.
Charles Dickens
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
Warren Buffett
I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
Stephen Grellet
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Issac Newton’s Third Law of Motion
“You do your best until you know better, then you do better.”
Maya Angelou, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes
Etymological explanation for Kindness:
c. 1300, “courtesy, noble deeds.”
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An act of kindness is an act of service.
The best charity is that given when one has surplus wealth. A person’s true wealth is the good they do in this world.
Based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
Unknown
“People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who don’t need help.”
Glennon Doyle, Carry On, Warrior
“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”
1 Corinthians 12:7 (New Living Translation)
Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.
Henry van Dyke
“How can I be of use, how can I be of service? There is something inside me, what can it be?”
Vincent van Gogh, letter to Theo
A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.
Chinese proverb
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When we give something to someone, we receive something in return.
“There is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of other men…Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.”
Albert Einstein, Living Philosophies
An act of kindness never dies, but extends the invisible undulations of its influence over the breadth of centuries.
Unknown
One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.
Lewis Carroll (the pen name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)
“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
Jane Goodall
Amid life’s pursuits, there is but worthy one: to do men good.
Unknown
“Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.
You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.
You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You don’t have to know about Pluto and Aristotle to serve.
You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve.
You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics and physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
Martin Luther King Jr., his final sermon
Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ask yourself: What is the universe trying to communicate to me? What insights can I gain from this situation, and how can I apply them for the benefit of humanity?
Based on the teachings of Deepak Chopra
“The more one forgets himself – by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love – the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.”
Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
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Jen Hitze 