My favorite “Step” of the well-known 12-Steps used by multiple colloquial recovery programs that exist today is Step number 12. The key phrase that summarizes the step is “carrying this message [of recovery] to others,” an act of service born out of the life transformation a participant has partaken in.
This spirit of service is key not only to the daily motivation for a person-in-recovery, but also to the healing and growth that all of us seek to experience in our lives. Service is the heartbeat of community, and a core pillar of mental wellness.
Consider some of the names of many leaders whose significance and influence have been remembered over generations and taught in our history classrooms: Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Nelson Mandela, Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Malala Yousafzai. What is the prevailing characteristic or accomplishment we remember most about these people? Is it their oratorial skills, political persuasions, or titles? No! We remember them for their service to others.
German-French theologian, writer, and physician Albert Schweitzer once said, “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” I could not agree more!
We each have the opportunity to seek and find how to serve others in our daily life. We can find ways to serve in our jobs. We can find ways to serve in our families at home. We can find ways to serve in our places of worship. We can find ways to serve in our schools, shared interest clubs, and neighborhoods.
If you take a moment to think about it, service is really more a way of life than just an activity we participate in. Service is a worldview, not just an hour of volunteering. If you truly take this to heart and adopt this lens of seeing everything and everyone around you as someone you could be of service to, you may be surprised by the positive benefits to your own mental health that you experience.
If you or someone you know is currently more in a place of needing service than of giving, you are not alone and The Willow Center is here for you.
Written by Chase Cotten, Community Director
