Service or servitude?
Service or servitude?
Which do you provide in your work? Are you of service to others or are you in servitude to them? This is a question my colleagues and I have pondered over the years. There is a huge difference.
Service is when we live our life purpose by giving of ourselves and our gifts to other souls, to the planet. When we are in service, we feel grounded in what we’re doing and there is some sort of fair exchange that happens between us and those we serve.
For instance, in the case of ministers or pastors, they serve their congregation through teaching, counseling, and leading others along a spiritual path. In return, the people who attend their church support the ministry with tithes, gifts, volunteering, and payment for services. The ministers are grounded in what they’re doing, the members of the church receive services and both are supported.
An example of servitude is where someone provides service to someone or a group of people and either doesn’t charge for the services or charges so little the exchange is out of balance. This happens to healers and counselors quite a lot. They believe in what they are doing and provide their services even when people don’t pay them. Although this works sometimes and can be very admirable, it becomes servitude when the healer can’t pay their bills but still provides services because he or she feels they must.
This applies equally to people who work for others. You don’t have to be in servitude to your boss or customers. Of course, this can be tricky since some bosses want servants rather than employees.
Being of service to others isn’t the same as being a doormat and letting people walk all over you. Being of service brings joy and freedom to the server and the ones served. Being of service helps both parties grow, learn, and evolve into the best people they can be.
If you find yourself being in servitude instead of service, ask for guidance about how to switch the energy. You and your clients/boss/customers will be much happier.
Living in grace and ease,
Krysta
A nice timely reminder to me not to forget to put my oxygen mask on first before helping someone else. It is easy still, after many years of practice, to slip into an unbalanced state and not even realize it until I have a stress related health issue. For me, it is quite insidious as what my brain tells me the next indicated thing is does not always match up with what my body is apparently trying to tell me.