Serve

Serve:  To be useful; to meet the needs of.

Boy, these definitions can be killers.  I blow most concepts out of all proportion.  What does it mean to be of service?  Apparently to be useful.

One of my morning affirmations is a simple "Show me how I can be of service to someone else."  I no longer try to be of service in a specific way (usually in a way that I think is best but almost never is) and I have long ago given up any pretense of dramatic service.

Here are some useful things: forks, door knobs, pants (with a belt), and my toothbrush.  These are not very dramatic but my day would suck without them.  I want to be of service in a Ferrari way - a red Ferrari - even though my fork-like service is what is helpful to the most people.

If I go to a meeting and try to have the Best Share of the Day I come off like a pompous asshole.  If I stand outside the meeting and welcome everyone who shows up - especially people I don't recognize - then I'm fork-like.  A friend of mine who recently died of cancer once commented on my anniversary - in front of the group - that "Seaweed was the first person who welcomed me to the meeting."  That was the best compliment he could have paid me.  He didn't say I was wise or profound or insightful - he said I shook his hand at his first meeting.