the serving mind

at some point of our life we are serving someone or the other. wikipedia loosely defines serve as providing a form of non material good. somehow you can never put a price tag on service mainly because it is non material.
as a daughter i have served my parents, as a sister i have served my brother, as a wife i have served my husband, as a mother i have served my children, as a citizen i have served the country, as a friend i have served my pals, as an employer i have served my employees and as a disciple i have served my gurudev.
my swamiji(by the way, my swamiji is your swamiji too as I refer him to mine as an endearment. my gurudev is very dear to me and if i have been referring to him as mine; it is only because he is extremely extremely dear to me and not because he is an object) always says that service is a natural free expression of the mind. he also says that when you do service to your family, it is sort of expected of you. things you would do for your parents or your siblings or your children are compulsions rather than voluntary.
when you serve your people without expecting anything in return, those activities will help the entire community, your country and the whole globe. this in return provides unimaginable joy and peace to the server.
coming back to my centre garden where joey, sean and i worked to transform the place; i must say we did it with so much of love and regard for our centre and also for all the devotees who are patronising and will patronise the centre. somehow i know that eventhough it wont make any difference to my swamiji whether the centre garden has a blue flower sprouting out of a yellow plant or a red flower dying on the blue plant; i know for a fact that he has managed to instill that service bud in the three of us and would be happy to note that we have grown in some way. my swamiji always says service to mankind enriches, expands, enlarges and elevates one's mind and personality.

i have this thing in me pushing me to serve. somehow i cant put it down on paper as well as i feel it from the very bottom of my existence. i remember my sister in law sunita wanting to give me a medical certificate to explain my absence from the centre as she wanted me to go shopping with her. I told her i will only need an MC if i am forced to go to the centre. I m going willingly and no one is expecting me to be there. life in the centre would go on regardless of me being there. however, i need to go as i have an internal urge to do so.

pat on the backs and well wishes are nice and charming but somehow not as gratifying as the fountain of peace and joy i feel within me when i am serving my people. you might say i am selfish because i am doing it to fulfill my inner joy; but you know what? so be it!