Our purpose is to express love, serve others or a cause bigger than ourselves, and remember who we are. Of the three activities, service is the key to accelerate our spiritual evolution and boost our overall mental well-being when we experience down moments. As Cady goes on to say: "We grow by using for others the light and knowledge we have."
A reporter asked Alvin Poussaint, a prominent Harvard professor and psychiatrist, what he would do if he found himself on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Because of his knowledge of the psychiatric field, it would be reasonable to assume that he would go to the most prominent psychiatrist or therapist he knew. However, that was not his response. Dr. Poussaint said he would find someone down the street who could use his assistance, and he would help that person. He recognized that the way to put one's life back together, no matter the challenge, is to forget the personal self and serve.
I recall taking an unplanned trip that took me through the Midwest during a severe snowstorm. The airline canceled my layover flight due to the storm, and there were no flights available until the next day. The delay disrupted my perfectly coordinated travel schedule, and presented a spiritual growth opportunity that I would have preferred not to have. While seeking to speak to a customer service representative from the airline, I ended up in a very long line with other passengers who were booked on the canceled flight. It was one of those Disneyland-style lines – down the block and around the corner.
While I was waiting in line, I noticed a woman in front of me who appeared quite distraught. For some reason she started talking with me about a business deal that was about to collapse. She shared how she had struggled to make this deal happen, how important it was, and now it was about to fall apart. She talked with me as if we were close acquaintances or I was her longtime counselor.
While this was not my intention when I got in line, I ended up helping this person I had never met. I posed a few questions that raised some alternative possibilities, and she eventually concluded that something greater was in store for her and her business. I sensed she felt better and even relieved. Interestingly, I felt better. Moreover, the challenge I was facing didn’t seem very significant. I served that person in a small way, and by doing so my challenge no longer consumed me. As a bonus, the line we were in suddenly seemed so short.
Instead of being self-serving, when one renders service to others, the receivers benefit as well as one who serves. Fundamental truth reminds us that what we give away and release in consciousness, we keep. Consequently, if you experience a lack in any area of life, the surest way to replace it with abundance in that area is to determine what you have to give, and to share it.
If you are feeling down in the dumps, see how you can serve another person, because we all have something to give. Anyone can serve. That service may be at our local spiritual community, our neighborhood, or the world. As spiritual beings, we are here to be inlets and then outlets of all that God is.
When we serve for the joy of serving, we will see and experience the "new heaven and the new earth." Spiritual prosperity will flow to, through, and as us. And we shall grow in our spiritual understanding.
Peace and Blessings,
James
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