As I write these words, it is late June, early summer. As I gaze upon the various forms of life teeming within my own backyard, I am in awe of the infinite expressions of cooperation occurring within this web of life. The sun bestows its life-giving light. The sky sends the rain necessary for life. The lush green grass provides sustenance for the deer. The flowers provide the sweet nectar that becomes the honey that sustains the bees in the winter months, and the bees give back to the flowers by spreading pollen to serve the reproduction process. Our planet is one large nest of cooperation. Another word for this cooperation process is service. Life is service, and service is life.
The service of nature is not an onerous task but a natural part of life and an expression of joyous love. At the core of our being is this spark of divine life and love. It is beautiful and pure. When it is not impeded by fear, attachment, or destructive stories, the Divine naturally expresses itself in helpfulness, generosity, and service. We are never more ourselves, never more human, never more God-like than when we are serving something other than ourselves. Meditate on the beauty and wonder of these words from the poet Hafez:
Even after all this time
The sun never says to the earth
“You owe me.”
Look what happens
With a love that lights the whole sky.
