Practice: Serve Your Community

The usual pitch, when it comes to volunteering, is that it's appropriate to give something back. We're called upon to serve as a fundamental responsibility. What this pitch obscures is that service is actually a privilege. Whether in a soup kitchen, battered-women's shelter, community garden, or Little League, service opens our hearts, connects us to the world, and fills the present moment with meaning. While service provides assistance to those in need and/or to the community, its foremost beneficiary is almost always the one who serves.

This practice comes from Raphael Cushnir in How Now: 100 Ways to Celebrate the Present Moment.

Find a few hours a week for service. Choose a location or organization that you feel strongly about. Look for a position that takes advantage of your strengths or one that involves a refreshing change of pace from your usual work. Since the opportunity to make a contribution is a privilege, treat everyone you meet with appreciation.

In partnership with our friends at Spirituality & Practice, we are sharing practices to help us all “practice democracy” from the inside out. Visit Spirituality & Practice's The Practicing Democracy Project for more practices and a wide array of resources.