Magic of Service

When we live in harmony with the dharma, or the great natural law, everything we do is an act of service. Wherever we are, whatever we do with our time, were lightening the load of the whole planet just by finding and following our own perfect roles in the movie; our own paths to a simple, happy life.

But service is also a specific spiritual practice; one which is widely overlooked and terribly misunderstood. Theres a secret, a great spiritual treasure, hidden within our ability to relieve suffering feeding the poor, tending the sick, loving whom Jesus called the least of these. Its also a practical discipline as much as meditation, yoga, and prayer, and its also a whole lifestyle, just like medicine, business or sports. [...]

We have to begin guessing our own way, with as wide-open a heart and mind as possible. The point here is simply that service is an exciting lifestyle which weve been trained to ignore in favor of competition, profit motive, recreation, and status none of which have a very good track record for bringing lasting happiness.

As we wake to the magic of serving others, the distinction between selfish and selfless become non-existent. The best thing I can do for me is to help you. The best thing you can do for you is to help me. Follow our best interests, and everyone benefits. What a different concept of life than the idea of survival of the fittest or grab what you can! And it really works, even for old hippies like Sita and me with no degrees, no formal job training, no respectable credentials of any kind.

The fact is, just about every part of life on Earth needs fixing; so this particular strategy the path of service is about latching on to whatever grabs our hearts the most, and start helping out. Everything else we need will be provided.

-- Bo Lozoff