Giving service

I was recently recruited by an organization who’s hiring. I was inspired by the opportunity and so I applied, and now I am in the delicious stage where I don’t yet know what’s decided. But I am hopeful, because I believe the job will allow me to serve my country by doing something that I love, and intuition tells me I will find the work fulfilling.

Preparing my application got me thinking a lot about service. I’ve quoted George Bernard Shaw before and still agree that the true joy in life is “being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.” And then the other day Stephen Colbert told college students that “Service is love made visible.”

I want to share my talents and abilities with love, and more and more I’m realizing that I can serve myself and those around me with yoga off the mat as well as on. Yoga is so much more than the stretching exercises that comprise asana. Yoga is a philosophy, a state of mind that brings peace to those who practice.

I’ve been trying not to think too much about teaching yoga right now. I have a weekend training workshop in a couple of weeks, and a vacation before then, and I am very happy with my life, so I am not worried. If I get hired for my dream service job, I will bring my yoga with me, showing by example how yoga can improve focus and concentration along with relieving workplace stress. And if I don’t get hired, I will continue exploring ways to be of service to my community. Increase my focus on bringing yoga into schools.

Regardless of what’s next, I am proud of myself for applying for something with passion. It is refreshing and reassuring to remember that there is no pressure for me to attain anything other than contentment. It feels good to be comfortable with uncertainty, to have faith in the future I cannot see. Life is so rich and I am full of gratitude, happy to understand that a job isn’t something I get, but that I give.