Why serve?
If you suffer from the frustration that there is not enough time to get everything done, there is only one cure: service. But the concept of service escapes most people because service is seen by nearly everyone as a sacrifice.
The amount of time, talent and treasure one has to give up satisfying the gods of obligation and guilt. Service is even used as punishment for breaking the law or a requirement for graduating from high school.
No wonder many people view the idea of service with negative feelings.
But what if service was not a duty, but a sacred way to live your life? The key is in how you understand life.
For instance, if I start my day with a conscious decision to serve peace, I can look at every transaction as an opportunity to practice peace.
If I feel myself getting distracted by anger or frustration I can stop that train of thought. I can still my mind and refocus on why I’m here: to live in peace.
But to live this way I must prepare my mind to overcome my memorized emotional resistance.
It is this resistance, created by my ego, that robs me of my peace of mind and holds me captive — a prisoner of fear.
On Sept. 16, the Center for Spiritual Discovery sponsored an event called “People Helping People.” Representatives of more than 25 nonprofit organizations showed up to explain how they serve humanity. The result was 122 people donated 1,464 hours of time valued at over $19,000 given to local organizations to serve those in need.
A young woman from Tia’s Arms, an organization that helps children with HIV, thanked me for the volunteers who last year helped them put up their website and raise thousands of dollars to assist help the children.
In addition, 33 people gave enough blood at the American Red Cross Blood Mobile to save 99 lives.
Our job is to hook people up to ideas bigger than their personal issues and help transform their lives into an act of service.
We invite you to visit our website at www.cmcsd.org and learn about all the wonderful organizations you can hook up with.
JIM TURRELL is the pastor of the Center for Spiritual Discovery in Costa Mesa.
