Service
“Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances.”
– St. Vincent de Paul
Do you own a table with a leaf? I always love when the table leaves come out because that means we’re about to be surrounded by people we love.
I missed creating a blog post in January. I’ve been busy. This past month I have been doing a lot of heavy emotional reading and attending a fairly intensive training to become a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for children in the child welfare system. Tonight we were sworn in at the Judicial Court. I have never before felt a sense of pride quite like I did tonight.
My whole adult life I have prioritized some sort of service but as a CASA, the stakes feel higher. Serving dinner in a soup kitchen, or running a writing workshop at the Boys and Girls Club, these are fulfilling opportunities for me; they fill my heart with love and I truly hope the impact is felt and recognized. But as a CASA, my opinion matters. Recommendations I make to the court, around what’s in the best interest of the kiddo I’m advocating for, are taken into serious consideration. The observations and recommendations I make hold a lot of weight in the life of this child. I pray for a lot of wisdom on this journey.
Why am I sharing this with you? Service is one of my personal core values and a pillar of my company. This year my goal is one hour for each day of the year- 365 hours of service to my community in 2023. It’s a heavy lift. But I prioritize service because it makes me feel whole. The few years of my life just before COVID had felt frantic. My environment was not healthy for me and while in the midst of it, I couldn’t figure out how to pull myself out. My anxiety was so high I was having chest pains daily and sometimes full on panic attacks. Once I got a clean bill of health from the cardiologist I had been referred to I realized it was time for me to take my life back. I was trying my best to maintain life balance but constantly felt emotionally exhausted. My overall sense of joy was gone. (Joy is another core value of mine!) Probably the biggest misalignment for me though was that I wasn’t making any time to serve my fellow humans. And that’s a problem. Service is what defines my life’s purpose. While chasing my goal of self-employment, one of my biggest motivators was knowing that I would have more control over my schedule and could weave in my passion for service regularly. For that reason, I chose to make service a pillar of my business. In addition to the individual places where I serve in my community, 10% of my clients are served free of charge.
Serving others allows me to put action to my thoughts and words of gratitude for all of the privilege in my life. Giving of my time, services, or possessions to others who are in greater need allows me to stay humble and mindful of the amazing opportunities I have been given. With each act of service I can provide, I add a leaf to my table and that fills my heart like nothing else.
What fills your heart? What gives your life purpose? What are your core values and how do you honor them in your life? I would love to hear from you!
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness only light
And where there’s sadness ever joy…