Input, Stephanie!

[qos]

I'm writing in haste this morning, and don't have time to get my thoughts down in a coherent fashion, so I'm going to shamelessly ask all of you for your thoughts and observations, so I can read my email and get more grist* for my inner mill/black box:

What does it mean to you to "serve"? Does rephrasing to "serve in a spiritual sense" make a difference in your answer?

How do you use your gifts to serve?

What does servant leadership look like to you?

Given what you know of me, in what ways can you imagine me using my gifts to serve? (If you can imagine such a thing at all. . . )


* Yes, poliphilo, I do hope you will contribute your wisdom. ;-)

Comments

[rocket-jockey.livejournal.com]

You've asked several interesting questions: what is the nature of service? how do people see themselves in service? and is there necessarily a distinction between "service" and "spiritual service"?

For practical purposes your definition of "serving" as "being of use" is reasonable: if one is hindering, one is definitely not providing any sort of service!

Being "in service" can take any number of forms. Volunteer work for a social cause is one way. Raising children is another. Choosing a profession or job that can affect people's lives or helps shape the world they live in.

In my case, I volunteer to teach seminar classes and have been a tutor. When I've had the luxury of choice I've usually chosen to work in fields that have some direct link to concrete aid in people's well-being or promote ideas and attitudes that I feel are beneficial. None of the things I do or have done make huge changes to the world, but they do make smaller changes in the lives and personal "worlds" of the people that they touch.

As for whether the two kinds of service are congruent - they can be if you choose them to be. All endeavors can be consecrated or dedicated or promote a spiritual path for the practitioner and often for others, as well.

One example of this that comes to my mind is a sofer, or Jewish scribe. Sofrim follow a strict spiritual discipline when they are working on a Torah scroll. The day begins with a ceremonial mikvah, followed by preparing the ink, the pen, and the hide. The sofer meditates upon the words as he writes them, says prayers to God to bless the scroll whenever he writes one of the Lesser Names of God, and repeats the mikvah and prayers whenever he has to write one of the Greater Names of God. When he is finished, the scroll goes into the Ark at a synagogue and becomes a part of the spiritual center of that congregation.

The connections don't have to be so obvious: there can be spiritual aspects to any endeavor. Training bonsai is meditative for both the trainer and those who view it, baking bread is satisfying both in the act of making and in the acts of sharing and eating. The spirituality can be self- or other-focused depending on the state of mind, but one needs to approach the task mindfully, purposely, deliberately, listening to the soul much as one might during a ritual or mditation.

[qos.livejournal.com]

These are helpful ideas and insights. Thanks!