Helping in the local community. The "servant" mentality.


Recently I have been taking on more and more projects to help people get some endeavors started with worthwhile youth oriented activities. I have had multiple requests from time to time that I have really liked, but I have simply been too busy to take them on. However, lately I have met some people who have sparked my interest to such an extent that I am going to make time to help them, even though this is the most active spring semester I have had in recent years...
That brings me to the point of what I want to discuss today. How many of us really take the time to assist in our local community when presented with the opportunity? I have found several rewards in doing so: primarily, the personal satisfaction derived from helping those who are trying to help others. I spoke with an assistant principal recently at one of our local high schools who is trying to build a youth program for a particular segment of the student population to help them form good life skills and become better citizens. How can I, as a teacher of high school students in this difficult age, be anything but enthused by this? So I manufacture the time needed to help him manage his project.

Creating time for the important stuff...

I have always been told, especially by my parents as I grew up, that I would always find a way to find the time for what I felt was most important. It is commonly called "priorities" in the normal nomenclature, and it is always interesting to see what people have set as their top most important tasks in life beyond the normal everyday tasks that we all do just to survive.

For some people, personal satisfaction is uppermost. What is it that I need to be happy? What do I "want" to do? Sometimes that is the top priority, especially for high school students. (I am sure that it was for me...that and my job at Goodner's Family Steakhouse!) It is part of the youth experience to have fun at every opportunity. I don't fault them for that, but I would encourage them as much as possible to think of ways that they can become servants. Not in the way that they may be imagining as they read this... just find a small way to serve someone with part of their discretionary time. It really is a matter of priorities.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The happiness train is back on track today!

Image
Ahh. Like a breath of fresh air, my mood is back to usual today. I don't like feeling down in the dumps. The happy train is back in the station, and boy is that a relief. What can you do to elevate your mood when you are feeling glum? Sometimes stress can actually cause you to feel sick. If you have a lot of stress, I have come up with some very simple ways to feel instantly better. These work for me, they may not for you - but if these don't work, there are probably some that are just as easy to accomplish that would work great. Really, all you have to do is ask one question. If someone looked at you and said, "Hey, tomorrow there will be no jobs that you have to get done, no chores, and no one is depending on you at all. You can do whatever you want to do for one 24 hour period, just because you want to do them." If someone gave you that permission, what would you choose to do? I have a few... I would take a long, relaxing bath. I would go to a florist with
Read more

A new topic...Mark has been facing a new challenge.

Image
Just for the eyes of our family: the challenge of prostate cancer. Since the beginning of May, last spring, Mark has earned so much respect from me. He has bravely faced his diagnosis of prostate cancer. He had surgery in July, and now in August, he is recovering from that. I am so proud of how he is dealing with the whole thing. He (thankfully) seems to have caught it early, thanks to his regular yearly physical. His PSA was slightly elevated and his biopsy came back showing cancer in four of twelve cores in his prostate. He had the option of radiation or surgery, and he opted for surgery. We are now post-surgery by exactly one month, so I can report good progress at this point. We have a follow-up appointment coming up soon, and are hopeful that the reports are good. Since I have not discussed it since the diagnosis and surgery, I felt that I should start the dialog here. He is being so proactive and is working hard to do everything he can to get past it all. His diet has flip
Read more

Conner keeps hitting them out of the park!

Sometimes people just get on creative hot streaks, and Conner seems to be on one right now. First he created a new logo for the Dale Jackson Career Center. Then he created an awesome motion graphics typography-based piece in After Effects. Then, when asked to create a new logo for the Career Center East, he created a unique and professional logo AGAIN! Conner, we are proud of what you do every day in terms of your relationships with your classmates and your high standards, but now you also deserve serious respect for your professionalism as well. We are very honored to have a talent like yours in our studio every day. Conner designed this motion piece in After Effects that features the logo design that he created in animated form. The logo is a symbolic representation of a pathway to the top of the earth. The slogan is "Paving the Way" and it is capitalizing on the switch to "career pathways" that we are using in Career and T
Read more