I don't know about you, but right now I have been feeling very busy with little room to go out and serve. That doesn't mean serving can't happen in my everyday life. (which also means you can serve in your every day life too!)
The question is "how?". How can you serve when you're working, doing errands or just sitting down on the couch. I'll tell you that this week that has been pretty much all I have been doing. It's spring break for me which means rest and doing nothing. That also means service is not as accessible when I feel like laying down on the couch and not getting up until I have finished an entire series on Netflix. I can give you three examples of this past week where I was able to do service in all three of those situations. The first situation is work. Work is very different for everyone. You could sit in an office, talk with customers, work outside, cook meals, the list goes on and on. There are over 40,000 jobs in the world and at every single one of those there is a way to do service. Right now my job is walking dogs! It is so fun and even in the cold weather the little (and big) dogs put a huge smile on my face. The six layers of warmth definitely help too. I work with an app so I can accept walks when they become available. For some walks the owner is home and for others there is a lockbox where I can enter to get the dog. For the walks where the owner is home I have an opportunity to have a conversation with the owner and find a way to make them smile. You never know, I could be the only person they see that day. Some of my walks become regular allowing me to form a relationship with the owners and ask how they are doing, making sure not only is their dog feeling loved, but that they are as well. For the dogs I don't see the owner, I normally see some people during the walk. With those people I can ask how their day is, smile, let them smile when they see the pup, and even just share a friendly hello. Yesterday I was walking through a neighborhood and there was a dog in his electric fence by the road. A woman driving by rolled down her window to say something about it and to have a short conversation. She told me to enjoy my walk and I was able to tell her to have a great day. There are also some dogs I walk in the "city" and almost everyone I pass smiles at the dogs. Some people say hello and tell me to have a great day. I feel like they are the ones serving me because they bring a smile to my face. Even if you are not a dog walker, these are still things you can do at your job. Saying hello to your coworker and asking how they are will truly mean something. You never know, the person sitting next to you at work could make you smile as you bring a smile to their face. Another way you can serve in your everyday life is through running errands. When you are running errands it is very likely that you will run into cashier (unless you shop online). The easiest way to serve is asking them how their day is. Most of the time they have to pretend they are having a good day and be good, but when you show compassion it could make their day better. You don’t know what their situation is and you could be the only one that makes their day. Cashiers are humans too and could have had a terrible thing happen to them, but your hello could make them forget about it, even if it is just for a second. If you don’t want to talk to them and it is the last thing you want to do… talk to them anyway, you talking to them could be first thing to make them smile for the entire day or even week. You might even learn something and change your mood as well. The final and hardest way to serve others is when you are sitting on the couch. The good news is that social media was created. Normally social media has a ton of bad effects, but you can make them good even if it is just for that minute. Everyone knows social media is bad for you and you shouldn’t hope to get a certain amount of likes, but people do. I mean think about it, it feels good to get a comment or a like even if you aren’t counting on it right? So go in and like the photos that you like. Comment on things too. If someone posts a picture of their kids and you think they are cute (or not), let them know how cute they are. It is something that that person takes joy in and you could bring even more joy through that. Now if you aren’t on social media (something I should do more often) You most likely still have a phone or email. Text or email someone and let them know you appreciate them. Tell them something you admire and give them a reason to smile. People use phones and social media for such negative things these days, but you can turn that around by spreading joy and serving others just by sitting on the couch. CHALLENGE: Your challenge today or tomorrow is to do at least one of these things. I know you have time because if you are not at work or running errands than you are most likely sitting on the couch. If you are reading this, right after go and text someone to let them know you appreciate them! (Don’t wait… you’ll forget or not feel like it later). Spread some smiles and lets see how many we can get! Share below if you sent a smile or gave a smile either by sending a text, commenting on a photo, holding the door for someone, or by saying hello to a cashier or your coworker. You can also hold yourself accountable by saying you will do something below, come back and let me know if you did it! Good luck!
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AuthorCassidy Dunn Categories
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August 2022
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