We tend to think that service is for other people. It’s really for us. It’s for the health of our hearts. Such a beautiful creation we are… made to carry another and in doing so, it lifts our own hearts.
I encouraged you in the blog, “I’ll Be So Much Happier When I’m Rich,” to go feed a hungry person and see what it does to your heart. When I lived in Los Angeles, the reality of homelessness hit me in a pretty profound way. I had never seen homelessness so visibly in the open as I did then. For Thanksgiving, I knew I had to do something. I bought a bunch of food and my ex-girlfriend and I were able to put together 21 meals. We took the food with bottles of water and drove around looking for people to give them to. After we handed out the last plate, I wished we had more to give. The highest calling on our lives is to lift other people in what ever way we can.
Was it because people would thank me or think I’m some saint, to pull up, jump out of a car and feed them, that I did it? No. Everyone enjoys recognition for what they’ve done, and potentially even on that level. But, what you truly feel at the heart of doing something like this, even if it’s very briefly, is the ability to alleviate someone else’s pain. Again, even if it’s only for a moment. That’s why I think hugs are so important (So important that I’m writing a book on them!)
When you contribute in that brief lifting of someone’s pain, purpose is breathed into your lungs.
Stay tuned. My near-future plan is to start a non-profit called, “21 Meals.”
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