Service
"Service is giving to others and wanting to make a difference in their lives. Having an attitude of service means looking for ways to be of help rather than waiting to be asked… When you work with a spirit of service, you give any job your very best effort. You make a real contribution. People who want to be of service can change the world." -excerpts from the Virtues cards with permission from The Virtues Project™
Having just returned from the annual Virtues Project Mentorship Retreat in Victoria, B.C., Canada, I am truly inspired by the examples of Service I heard at the conference. One of the key phrases was "Be the Change You Want to Be in the World," by Mahatma Gandhi. I'd like to share a story about service from Steve Hamilton, school counselor and teacher and V.P. facilitator in Parksville, B.C. on Vancouver Island, which exemplifies this concept of Service. Two of Steve's schools, Nanoose Bay Elem. School and Parksville Elem., have been using the virtues and Virtues Project strategies for four years. The principal, teachers, staff, students, and parents are working as a team to be more considerate, compassionate, friendly, joyful, peaceful, purposeful, and of service. Steve's stories were many, of how the virtues are incorporated into everything they do at the school, from language to assemblies to banners and murals. Discipline problems have become learning opportunities (teachable moments), and are resolved by listening, problem solving and calling on the virtues (spiritual companioning.)
Last year, one of the Parksville Elementary teachers who was on sabbatical, found herself in El Salvador for a day, where she went to a small village in the mountains. She saw all of the children from ages 6 to 16 walking uphill everyday with empty buckets, and returning with two heavy buckets of clean water. Their cisterns had all been destroyed in the earthquake. These children couldn't go to school; they had to provide water daily for their families. The teacher emailed her school with "HELP!"
Teachers and students took up the challenge. One of the parents sold cisterns, so they measured it. In order for the Canadian children to really know what it was like for the Salvadorian children, each child from kindergarten to grade 6, was given two clean ice cream buckets, and they carried them around the track for one kilometer, then filled their buckets with water and carried them again around the track. They were then told that this was one-sixth of what each child in the village carried every day. Their goal was to raise enough money to purchase one cistern, and this was accomplished quickly. Students were excited about the challenge and being of service. Excitement grew! With three weeks left in the school year, money had been raised for eleven cisterns. The push was on. By the end of school, students had raised enough money to buy fourteen cisterns, one for each family in the village. Very soon thereafter, photos were emailed back, with each Salvadorian child holding up a large, brightly colored decorated letter, surrounded by their smiling families, to make the sign that read, 'MUCHAS GRACIAS!"
Questions for reflection:
What have I done recently to be of service?
How can I provide opportunities for children in my life to be of service?
How can I be of service in small ways to those around me?
How can I be the change in the world I wish to be?
May 8, 2003