--Albert Schweitzer

Serving others is the life calling of many people. Those who enter certain professions, such as medicine, the ministry, and social work, earn their livelihood by directly serving others.  But, even if our career does not involve direct service to others, we can still serve our fellow human beings. We all have the opportunity to serve others each and every day.  Whether or not we do so is a matter of choice. 

Most of us have contact with many people in our work place, in our neighborhood, and almost everywhere else we go.  How many of us get interested in the lives of the people we come into contact with on a daily basis? How many of us ask them about their families, their jobs, their hopes and dreams? Most people are hungry for the opportunity to talk about themselves, and some people have few opportunities to do so. 

Showing a little interest in others can do wonders for both them and us.  Complimenting people on their appearance, or their work, can sometimes make their day.  Even a warm smile to everyone we meet can do more good than we will ever know.  Many of us are fortunate enough to have family and friends who show an interest in our lives. But some people are pretty much alone in this big, cold world. They feel that nobody cares about them and, in some cases, they may be right.

We may argue that the only people we know, who seem to be all alone, are so grouchy and bitter that they deserve their fate. But how much do we know about such people?  Might they have reasons for behaving the way they do that we are unaware of?   If we got to know them better, might we change our minds about them?

How many of us make a conscious effort to make life better for others, and feel we have a duty to try to make the world a better place? How many of us consistently work for the common good?  If we don't, perhaps we should ask ourselves why we don't.  Is there really a conflict between helping others and finding happiness for ourselves? Are all those people who get so much pleasure from serving others just being foolish?  Can we be sure that we will not add pleasure to our own lives as we try to increase the happiness of others? 

Suppose we all made a commitment to try to make the lives of the people around us just a little happier for the next month. Just how much trouble would that be for us?  Even if it did no good at all, would it hurt us all that much?  It might do nothing for our own happiness.  But then again it might.  What do we have to lose by giving it a try?

Copyright 2014 Allen Smith

TB-46—Posted 05/25/2014