It all starts
with us on a very fundamental level. What we do with this one wild and precious
life we’ve been given (to borrow a phrase from Mary Oliver) is what impacts the
world around us in deceptively simple, yet profound ways.
There is a lot
of talk in spiritual and other circles about the importance of being of
service—extending our energies in the direction of ‘helping’ others, but this
is only a real possibility to the extent that we have done genuine work on
ourselves first.
By this I mean
that only to the extent that we have ripened and matured, learned something
about ourselves and the world around us, and, hopefully, become a little wiser,
are we able to make an uncontrived offering to the surrounding community—and I
don’t believe it is necessary, or perhaps advisable, to think about this in too
grandiose terms.
For the moment
that being of service becomes an exercise in some form of unacknowledged
self-aggrandizement (a bid for esteem based on how kind, generous and good we
all strive to be, or need to believe we are) is the very moment that we may not
be helping anybody, least of all ourselves.
How can we be
said to be helping anyone if the subtext of our efforts is dictated by internal
weaknesses related to lack of self-worth, etc.?
The idea of
being of service can act against us if it exists as a distraction from all that
needs attending to inside ourselves—our own tendencies toward jealousy, anger,
violence or any other of the challenging and dark phenomenon that plague our
lives.
We can only
share with others that which has been thoroughly processed, that which we know
in our bones—knowledge that is viscerally a part of ourselves, and no longer
just intellectual property.
So, start at
home. Transformation can only happen inside us when we choose to pay attention
to our internal life—the life of the heart, mind and soul. This is our primary
purpose in life.
Then, as
transformation takes place, our actions in the world become a natural evolution
and organic expression of that which can be none other than a real help and
inspiration to all who surround us. All this without feeling like we’ve really
done anything at all except be ourself—our truest, deepest most authentic
Self.
Therefore, pick
yourself. Start at home on the difficult personal inner work that requires and
deserves your investiture and attention, and the rest takes care of itself.
Namaste.
