In Honour of Those Who Serve

Today is Victoria Day here in Canada. Some people equate it with Memorial Day in the United States, but really, it seems to be an excuse to have a civic holiday. Still, I woke up this morning with an intense gratitude for those who serve.

serving your communityWhen we think of serving, especially around this holiday, most people think of the military. While I have little respect for the institution of the military, I have great respect and gratitude for those who choose to serve in that way. That’s not the only way people can serve, however.

Almost everyone serves in some way. Teachers serve by sharing information and knowledge and feeding our minds. Farmers serve by growing food to feed our bodies. Nurses and doctors serve by helping us to heal when we become sick. Clergy and spiritual leaders serve by ministering to and feeding our souls.

And lets not forget about volunteers! There are many organizations, including the one I work for, that would not be able to keep their doors open without volunteers. The arts, sports, food banks and soup kitchens, senior care homes, the SPCA, and many other organizations that contribute to their communities rely on volunteers.

According to the book, Pendulum, we are moving from a me-centered society to a we-centered society. In a we-centered society, people do things that are for the greater good of their communities and humanity as a whole, as opposed to looking out mainly for themselves.

There are many opportunities to give back and serve our brothers and sisters. So many of them serve us each and every day. I serve my community through my church, leading and participating in rituals and discussion groups, both online and face to face. I receive no monetary compensation for it, and yet it fills me up and fulfills my need for contribution, to feel I am making a difference for something greater than myself.

How do you serve your community? Whatever way you choose to serve, I am thankful that you do.

Blessings,

Mary

2 thoughts on “In Honour of Those Who Serve”

  1. I see almost everything as service, whether monetary or other compensation is received in return — getting money in exchange for service is a way to support someone who can do that particular service, to make sure they can continue to do it; in that way it continues the cycle of service in the community.

    This doesn’t mean an expectation of compensation; more an acknowledgment that for service to work, there must be an exchange of energy. When we give and receive nothing in return, we burn out.

    Anyway. What I do in service is…varied. I’ve done healing work as Brighid’s Priestess. Sometimes I do crossing over work — helping beings die. I consider my creative work service. My books are for sale but I also post almost all my creative writing online, for free. Fiction can change a person from the inside out, so I don’t believe that anyone should find any financial barrier between them and a story.

    I also do warrior work for Morrigan. That can take many different forms. Often I get asked to do things on the spur of the moment. Battlefield decisions.

    One area of service I’d like to start doing again is working in a soup kitchen. I used to do this on a regular basis, years ago, but haven’t picked up the practice again. The same soup kitchen I worked in was one that helped my friends through their long spate of homelessness. It was a way to see tangible, immediate results, and that by itself renewed my energy for more service. (Other forms of service don’t always show results, and it’s there that energy must be given back to renew the person doing the service. Even in the soup kitchen, however, energy is given back — you get provided a meal for your work.)

    That was probably quite rambly and not at all coherent.
    Morag recently posted..Hallowing: A (Short) Guide to Making Sacred

  2. It did make sense, Morag.

    There are tons of ways to serve. You can serve in ways that I am not able to, just as I can serve in ways that you may not be able to. And that is part of what makes our world so amazing. 🙂

    Thank you for your service!

    Blessings,
    Mary

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