"The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being." – Lech Walesa
Lech Walesa, the polish labor and political leader of Solidarity was awarded the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle to secure workers’ rights. Signing up for this valiant task, he brought order to chaos, changing a nation, and making a mark on the world which set the stage for great transformation. In essence, he volunteered to do so.
Such a grand denouement is not the typical return for most volunteers but in examining Walesa’s quote above, service on any level can lay the foundation for something positive to emerge. It’s not just a "feel good" quality, but might result in actual health benefits according to a new study by the Corporation for National and Community Service, The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research, which found that "volunteers have greater longevity, higher functional ability, lower rates of depression and less incidence of heart disease."
Volunteerism as an elixir for the ills of the mind and body might encourage more engagement, but I see another level of benefit – inner transformation on a deep level; a potentially positive change from within that can effect change in the people and work environments around us.
When we volunteer ( I work with patients in hospice care ) we are forced to get out of our own way, in order to be empty enough to temporarily hold the space for another to go through their process. It demands us to put the "me first" mentality aside. Volunteering calls for compassionate detachment, while still being present for those we serve, so we don’t burn out. But as we cultivate this compassionate detachment we receive a lot. It feeds our ability to be silent when faced with daily challenges that appear in our own lives. We grow as human beings, through helping others.
When we retreat from the personal issues that plague the mind, sadness that creeps into the day as we observe the news of the world, and the trials of worklife issues, we open a space within our selves to dig deep into our own intuition and healing abilities.
Service, I think, helps us to evolve on a grand scale. As that evolution occurs, we raise the bar on how consciously we interact with others in life and at work.
