Put people first
A Pace of Grace, the Virtues of a Sustainable Life by Linda Kavelin Popov
Interesting thing, reading about vitues. Not sure when I started if I really believe they still existed, thought they’d been extinct since the early eighties and downfall of social capital. Popov’s chapter on the virtue of moderation struck me, brought me to a place of soul-understanding. A place I haven’t been in a long, long time.
On putting people first she reflects,
“In my work as a hospice spiritual care director, I find that only two things matter at the end of our time on this earth– love and service. As they are dying, folks seem to care the most about their relationships, and also about what difference they have made.”
It resignated, like a low gong.
So I get wrapped up; wrapped up in perception, expectations, me and my own needs and wants and this and that. Small, meaningless to the outcome of life, really.
But LOVE & SERVICE. That narrows it down. I can do that, my busy mind can stop and wrap itself around the concept. It’s not all the fancy things we do in life– the fun, the pretty, the respectable, the prestigious, the acceptable, the great. It’s the love we show and the service we do.
One day in hospice myself, I’ll want to know, “have I made a difference?” And no amount of really cool thrift store finds, great mountain escapes, completed units, friends and followers, or letters of rec will constitute an answer to such a question.
Thanks for this, Jen, it’s a great insight for all of us.