What matters is the Great Plan.
What matters is how you may serve.
I had quite a negative reaction when I saw this illustration and read the verses that accompany it. I don't want to bow down and serve anyone or any institution. But Lorenzi-Prince states this is about taking a higher view rather than a self-centered one; it is about support, not worship. Here is a choice of putting aside my individual wishes and doing what is most beneficial for the whole, whether it is a family or a community. My ego wants to stomp its feet and yell, "But what about ME? What about what I want?" The hard part of service is that it is usually required when it is inconvenient and can at times be unpleasant. But the bottom line is, do I care about this family or this group of people at least as much as I care about myself? If so, I need to add my support by doing what is needed.From the Transforming Dragons deck comes the dragon "Yemotov:"
Trap: Feeling life is a worthless
Treasure: Seeing life as sacred
When I first saw this dragon's name, I thought of a Molotov cocktail, and indeed he is destructive, but the damage he does is to himself. I had one friend who attempted to burn herself alive before Thanksgiving and another who killed herself a few days after Christmas. Depression is a dark, lonely place, and though society has more pharmaceuticals for it than ever, it's still little understood. I keep asking myself if there was something else I could have done or said to prevent either woman from going to such an extreme... Yet on some level I know that while I can reach out my hand to another person, I can't force them to grasp it.
Service can also turning an addiction. Or a power trip.
ReplyDeleteChurch or PTA or whatever group, I have known a number of people who serve cheerfully and faithfully while their families go wanting.
Everything has a line doesn't it, and many times it is hard to know if you've crossed it.
Yep, co-dependents thrive on service - they need to be needed in order to feel worthy.
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