The Act of Service
Sunday 12/11/22
Good morning Beloved Readers, and welcome to new readers who may have subscribed after reading my recently published Brevity article. I’m so excited to have you all here.
This morning I want to share with you two quotes:
“Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said.
We are at our best when we serve others.”
I agree, we are at our best when we serve others, and the truth of my experience is that service makes my life meaningful, AND this is also true:
This afternoon we are going to explore our intention in service, and I think it's helpful to start with the basic, but true premise that real service does not happen unless both people are being served.
At an installation ceremony at the Zen Centre, a student asked the abbot, 'What can the Dharma teach me about serving others?" The abbot answered, "What others? Serve yourself!" The student persisted, "How do I serve myself?" To which the abbot responded, "Take care of others."
—Frank Ostaseski
Perhaps it’s this kind of service that creates healthy relationships where we get to be here for each other. I adore how the revered Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn would say, “Darling, I am here for you.”
I also feel this definition of service is contrary to what the dominant patriarchal religions have taught about sacrificing oneself for the good of others. As you may read in my post about Family, there’s an enormous difference between Love as Sacrifice and Love as Growth which, for me, is what Frank Ostaseski’s writing about service also points towards.
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I also want to express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to you for subscribing to this Substack of The Rising of the Divine Feminine. As one, single writer who is one, single ripple on the vast ocean of humanity, I’m grateful for your support.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my writing with people you love. And thank you for standing in your values and for surfing this wave of the Rising of the Divine Feminine, so that together, we all may dream into being “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.” ✨🌟💖🙏🕊
Next week, before I travel to Australia to spend time with my family of origin, I will send out the first of a few serialized chapters from Part Two of The Rising of the Divine Feminine and the Buddhist Monks Across the Road: A Memoir—the first chapter in Part Two is about growing up in a home in Australia that was only accessible by water.