We often ask, what does it mean to be human? What is the purpose of our lives? Where did it all begin, and where do we all end up? How do we establish community and protect it? What (or who) rules us? What determines that?

We all have questions, paths we have to journey in order to find knowledge and understanding. It is in questions we find purpose. Some of us have one big question; others have a series of questions. And not all questions are the same.

I happen to have a large question – or quest – accompanied with a small web of other questions. And that large question is this:

How can I, in my one life, create the best possible experience for others and me in the time that I have?

In my journey, I have found a key step to a firm answer.

Service.

What I learn from this journey is the importance of service. That I volunteer my mind, body, and energy to others willingly and compassionately. May it be an essay to provide emotional awareness and self knowledge; a reminder to slow down and promote wellness; or lending an active ear and sympathetic shoulder to rest on, I thrive in the business of service.

To some, it looks like weakness. Perhaps I seem soft and sweet. (They have not seen me on bad days when I want to scream and tear things apart.) I can been seen as vulnerable and naive. (Even though I am a generally anxious person addicted to mystery novels and forensic files, I am only slightly offended; the other part of me is still turning mild anxieties into fantastical fight scenes and insane stories I itch to capture.)

Yes, I have met manipulative and creepy individuals. As a guarded personality, I tend to keep others at bay. But my intuition aids my ability to trust my gut by studying body language and generally observing the world and events around me.

But because a fraction of others can slow me down, that does not stop my desire to Serve. There are plenty of people who require a gentle touch, ready ear, and open mind.

So what do I do to answer this large question? How do I make the best of the time I am given?

I am still exploring the answers, but this is what I have discovered so far. Kindness, or peace, starts from within and must be maintained in times of strife. This is where faith, self-determination and self-care originate from.

FOUNDATIONAL ACTIONS

Step 1. Perform small services throughout the day, unasked and genuinely without self-interest. Compliment the postal officer’s necklace. Help a neighbor with a difficult chore (or at least give a genuine offer) as they struggle through the parking lot. Thank a sales person with their name and a real smile. Listen to a friend who is in need. Massage your mother’s back, or simply message her back.

Step 2. Direct job interests toward service-oriented positions. For the longest time, I took this literally: retail, massage therapy, personal care. But I have grown to see that service is an action, not a position. Copywriting can be a genuine service, it it catered to the individual needs and dreams of a client. I look for jobs where there is a Need, or for you lovely business nerds, a Pain Point. Service, as an action, is part of a solution. And for a job, I want others to see me as part, if not one of the faces of a solution.

Step 3. Ongoing research and education. We are constantly changing, and so is the science of what makes us tick. Continuous studying is imperative and allows us to expand and refine our tools in order to best serve. I admit, when I study, it is a scatter shot of subjects. But you will never know where the basic understanding of random subjects can help inform a larger situation. I have no clue what basics of waste management, deep ocean mining, tectonic plates, and volcanology would bring. However taking those basics and considering them in a fantasy world… Is bizarely inspiring. It maintains an interest in my work, our world, and making most of time.

Steps Leading Into Results

As you go about your day, be honest with yourself on how you conduct your writing, living, and even business!

My goal, for example, would be to direct my attention to interests that can be turned into an offering. Depending on one’s abilities, talents and personality, they can veer towards a physical or mental manifestation of service. This can be interpreted in a variety of ways: maintaining a pet/house sitting service that is kept within a small community; volunteering my time to play music at a nursing home; dedicating an hour of my time a week to play virtual Body Double for writers who just need another writer nearby to hold them accountable or be a cheerleader.

Sometimes in order to grow one’s talents, you have to take a bit of time and space. You cannot hurry talent, yell at plants to grow better.

Instead, cultivate each part of yourself. Maintain those connections for housesitting; check on the writing friends with a misting of inspiration; keep picking up that violin as a means to escape a busy schedule and brain. And genuinely enjoy those moments, bask in the beam of gratitude and service of a cyclical nature.

There is beauty to be found in the everyday and writing can help capture those moments. Finishing a first draft is not an end, it is a beginning. All those little side quests of blogs, poems, and journals. You are building your craft and voice. Follow the arc of your craft, for you have spent the time and energy to build momentum to launch yourself into action.

If you built up the habits and plans over time, please remember to trust yourself! We often do not notice our own accomplishments because they happened gradually; we have spent so much time watching our own feet, swinging past difficulties, fighting challenges that we do not see the enormity of the event until we are out of it.

So keep going and continue to be kind to yourself. You are stronger than you realize, and I cannot wait to see what you do next.

Till next time, dear readers.