I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.
- Rabindranath Tagore
I feel like we are waking up just now, in our brief history on this planet, and learning that life is service. For some of us, this is news, and we may be experiencing some grief around the joyous dream from which we have been suddenly exiled. We find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, grabbing at thin branches along a path we cannot fully discern. We wonder if we are alone in our experience.
For others, this place is home. This life of service called us long ago, waking us from our own dreams, perhaps less joyous. Here we are, still, celebrating service together, as the need exponentially swells. The path we have been walking is full of joy, even when it is dark. We can share this experience, we can call out in the storm.
Behold: Service is Joy. Your health is my health, is our health. Our peace of mind, our survival, dignity, radiant beauty, joy - all inextricably linked together. Like any organism or ecosystem or galaxy, the true path to survival is cooperation. We can learn to invite service with humility and joyful effort, to let go and let be and to be with.
Check out the absolutely amazing webinars on structural racism in healthcare and education, organized by NADOHE:
https://www.nadohe.org/webinars
And check out Danez Smith:
let ruin end here
let him find honey
where there was once a slaughter
let him enter the lion’s cage
& find a field of lilacs
let this be the healing
& if not let it be