On September 5, 2023 this Insight Timer live event aimed to refresh, inspire, explore and boost innerstanding of service to others. This included: being spontaneous, going on intuition, interventions vs. letting people be, putting compassion and service in action by asking how can I help, harm reduction, prioritizing, self-care, flipping the script on the argument that helping others is service to self, using embarrassment as motivation instead of self-criticism, assimilation, allowing, receiving, recharging, the four nutriments, happiness, (lack of) specialness, conceit, etc.
Audio: Let’s Truly Serve
The raw unedited YouTube transcription of this podcast:
foreign
[Laughter]
Josh here hey how’s everybody doing
today I don’t know if you can hear in
the background but I’m near a school in
Denmark and the kids are loud and unruly
kind of like kids are loud and really I
guess they’re not unruly and
today’s event is titled
let’s truly serve
um in the description I have let’s
refresh get inspired explore and boost
our understanding of service to others
for 15 minutes or so
what does it mean to truly serve today I
think I was tested I think I found the
only picnic table in the wooded areas in
the parks within a 10 mile radius here
where I’m at in Denmark that has an
ashtray right and I used to smoke years
ago and here I get here and I know it’s
there and there’s these nasty wet
cigarette butts in there
and so what do I do do I sit and
complain about it stew about it
no I I actually grab with my hand and I
put them in a fire to be burned you know
of course I didn’t have to do that it
was probably maybe against my better
judgment at some point because who knows
what’s in there I didn’t have a glove on
wasn’t ideal I mean I washed my hand in
the the pond behind me and maybe that’s
not ideal either but in a way I do feel
better okay these are really
insignificant things but these things
add up these little bitty things in our
lives it’s not to be completely mired in
detail right but it’s just how can I be
of service so let’s step back
one way that can be and dichotomy here
is service to self or service to others
and you know the classic argument I run
up against or some people want to argue
I have no interest really in arguing is
well we want to serve others because it
makes us feel good so that’s actually
service to self and instead of getting
in there and refuting that or really
addressing it directly like that I like
to just
take that issue and turn it on its head
or do a 180 and say
yes all hearts are connected everything
is interconnected so when I take care of
my own heart all hearts are served
maybe there was some there were some
people in the background here smoking
cigarettes again and you know at first I
thought you know why are you doing this
to yourself why are you harming yourself
like that and of course it’s just a
force of habit you know that might be a
teacher’s only reprieve for a few
moments to get out here and get a few uh
me time and and get a few breaths of
conscious air in you know and then how
do we address people that we know
they’re doing something harmful and yet
how we address it might actually be
adding to the harm
and how we take it if we feel like we’re
being neglectful if we don’t say or do
anything
you know I think the the first and
foremost thing to do with all this is
just contemplate and sit with it
especially how does it feel in the body
to be with something and to just be in
the Mis midst of it until unless it’s of
course too overwhelming and of course
this is not an excuse for abuse right
um so if we’re not in an abuseful
situation how can we be with it what can
we learn from it
how does the how does it make the heart
does it stir the heart how does it come
out how does it land
what’s the best way to go about this and
search for inner guidance on how to go
about things including how much time do
we actually want to give to any
particular
thing in our lives you know are we
giving it too much attention too much
time are we doing it not enough
so again this this when people say going
back to them service to self by helping
others it makes me feel good well
again when do we need to turn in words
and take care of our own hearts and
that’s not a selfish act either because
everyone is connected everyone benefits
from our own self-care to how we show up
in the world
makes a difference you know even if it’s
just a tiny bit like each drop drop by
drop a bucket’s filled I know I say this
metaphor a lot but
it’s just this willingness you know of
care I feel too so a service to self I
think is what can I get and that’s I’m
not saying don’t dream don’t get things
don’t set goals you know don’t welcome
things into our lives but what we want
for ourselves we should want for
everyone I think that’s a good guide too
and if it comes from a place of care
then it’s okay is this an act of care
and Goodwill you know or is it just you
know this whole thing was actually
inspired by a YouTube video I saw the
other day and I didn’t watch the whole
thing so I don’t know if it’s completely
accurate but what I was getting is the
guy was encouraging other people to be
selfish basically I mean not to
sugarcoat it a little maybe he was you
know he was giving encouragement to have
people you know get what they want have
everything they they desire and I’m not
saying that that’s wrong so much but
what if it came from a place of how can
I be of service to the highest good of
the many and now this doesn’t have to be
really grandiose you know it can just be
you know what makes the heart sing and
when our heart sings then everyone’s
going to benefit from that right
or maybe it means just shutting down for
a few moments and I can’t take this
right now and it’s not okay and it’s
okay not to be okay
and withdraw and retract
you know some sometimes that can help us
and everybody else or
we can be a little bit daring in Shiner
light one of the the biggest things I
can be of service here in Denmark is to
just eat my hat and say I don’t know
crap about the culture yet and just this
willingness to assimilate to keep
kicking myself in the butt to learn the
language more you know today was a
little bit embarrassing I was in the
library working on the laptop I was
really unsure this two or three women
came in and I was unsure if they were
talking to themselves or Me So
eventually take the headphones off and
she approached me a little bit and I
said oh I’m sorry I don’t know Danish
yet and then she told me how she had
reserved the room and you know welcome
to stay in there why they while they
talk with they’re going to talk in a
quiet room and I said oh that’s
absolutely okay and I could be in here
too and at the same time I’m gonna give
you the gift of you know woman time why
I go downstairs so I felt a little bit
embarrassed I wasn’t able to understand
them right away in the native language
so what do I do do I do I feel guilty
about that do I do I beat myself up well
I don’t think that’s too helpful but in
in a way I think that embarrassment is
it can be motivation to learn a little
bit more so if I’m getting embarrassed
or feel bad that I’m you know then then
how can I use that instead of beating
myself up to use it as motivation
for Action to be of be of good in
service we allow someone to be
themselves and then they become able to
help themselves oh wow this is a really
um less ongoing lesson for me too how it
can just be
yeah instead of allowing someone to be
themselves I mean you couldn’t really
have said it better yourself so
the only thing I would say up against
this is you know when to intervene and
not to intervene right why I really like
this question is is everything okay is
there any way I can help is there
anything I can do and then that way it’s
not me imposing what’s what I feel is
wrong or needs to be changed which a lot
of times it comes from my annoyance with
something and wanting it to be different
so I cannot feel as unpleasant right and
so that’s not the greatest place to come
from however to be a real care and
service just the willingness to do that
and I don’t know I think it’s it’s okay
and not out of line saying hey how you
doing is everything okay can I help is
there anything I can do
and in that way the other person can say
oh wait a second you know why are they
asking that do I need help or then
giving them the option of how one else
might be of service just how can I serve
you this these type of questions
actually allowing others to serve us to
is being of service as well because if
we it’s great to have a million servants
but if there’s no one to serve then then
what right what kind of refreshes
ourselves to be of service you know what
really
restores and renews us that one for me
is easy it’s going inside in meditation
seeing what needs to be addressed in
contemplation reflection to recharging
one’s batteries
getting a fresh perspective checking if
things are being
if one can see clearly about things
what inspires us you know who do we go
to for inspiration what do we go through
for inspiration nature it’s inspiring
but for more it’s more refreshing
because I feel it’s more human I guess
in nature a lot of times
what does it actually mean to serve
serve others and serve oneself pinigu
says doing something that feeds my soul
yes this notion of nourishment right we
can nourish ourselves with healthy food
but there’s also nourishment for
feelings what we eat What feelings we
pay attention to invite get drawn to
allow to be there allowed to amplify of
course we’d love to be there but it the
ones we try to get more of these are
affecting our well-being too so just
like we don’t want to put poisonous
crappy food in our mouth we don’t want
to have be around toxic emotions all the
time if if we don’t have to right or but
at the same time not have the courage
not to
um avoid them either when we need to
face them directly and then we have the
nourishment of Consciousness and that’s
a little bit above the pay grade here
for a couple more minutes and then we
have thoughts you know what are we
paying attention to in our minds what
kind of media sources do we tune into
for nourishment how do we notice others
serving in America I missed out on the
Labor Day weekend you know how does that
holiday whole holiday inform service I
know people may be in non-profits have a
little bit easier time and all it takes
is just a reminding a remembering of
that they are being of service that what
they do every day is being of service
and renew that refreshment of why
they’re there what they’re doing what
needs to be addressed what needs to be
dropped away what needs to be paid more
attention to Jerry Joe says you’re not
special we’re only special to other
people
Jerry Joseph Services the fuel to
happiness I would totally agree with
that one because at a certain point
we’ve taken so much care of ourselves
and we’re in a really good spot and then
what’s left before we realize Awakening
is that we’re here to be of service to
others right because we’ve got our own
house in order
to a large degree and this notion of
special oh I can do a whole other thing
on that I can see it both ways right
everyone is unique and special in their
own ways and at the same time the other
perspective as you know no one really
sticks out or has to be you know a tall
poppy or whatever that we can all find
commonality and you know not have to be
better than or worse than or even equal
to anyone
we’re coming up on 15 minutes y’all so
thank you for joining and may you all be
blessed with true service
to all beings everywhere and may all
beings everywhere realize Awakening and
be free
[Laughter]
bye now
Integrating Presence 