As I was filling out an application earlier today, the dreaded question appeared. I love serving, but I am not fully sure what that means. This is what I came up with:
What does it mean to serve?
Serving is based in love-- a love of self, humanity, and the world. To serve is to realize that the needs of the world are a part of your own needs and to live the good life also requires humanity to have the same. To serve is to understand that the world is a web of connections and that each decision we make can affect multiple others. To serve is to take the time, energy, and passion behind that understanding and use it to make the world one step closer to what it should be-- a place filled with a love and compassion that leads to true understanding.
This definition has changed each time I have typed it, but I think this is what I am going with. I would love to hear other people's ideas on this definition as well. :-)
After all, what is service without love and true understanding?
I absolutely agree that service entails an empathetic love for humanity. Often the idea of service becomes pigeonholed by various criteria, but for me, there is no specific definitions or limitations to the people or cause you serve. The first thing that comes to mind regarding service is recognizing a need, whether that be emotional, psychological, or physical, and effectively fulfilling it. An inherent desire to fix the broken and fill the empty.
ReplyDelete