You are such a blessing to others offering love, support and assistance… Greeting others with, “What can I do for you?”
There are those of us who come to this planet with a servant’s heart. That is to say that we thrive when serving others. I am a person whose optimal performance shines when assisting someone to achieve their highest and best and for me, in my work, little is more exciting than being in the room when someone achieves a breakthrough or epiphany.
Many occupations in our society are being performed by those who perform at their best, engaging all their skills for the betterment of another. You find these mild-mannered super heroes in jobs, like child care, church work, clergy, coaching, consulting, counselors, emergency response personnel, firefighters, military service, missionaries, nursing and health care, social workers and volunteers, etc…
The persons, who are born with a servant’s heart, are willing to put aside their own personal wants, needs and desires aside so that others can survive or thrive. You will find many of them serving in a full-time capacity and volunteering their free time to help even more.
I am quite impressed that a firefighter chooses an occupation that requires their running into a burning building to help whomever might need their assistance getting out – and they love it – this is their calling. Now, I might run into a burning building to save someone, but I would not want to have to work a job that had me doing that all day long.
Fortunately for us, there are those whose hearts and skills are more attuned to service work, relishing and performing tasks for the greater good. Although someone who tends to be a giver, they can be easily taken advantage of and it is impossible for these people to give to everyone, all the time, without risk to their ability to perform their practice at all.
It is in our best interest to monitor these high functioning service workers to see if they appear to be giving too much. Are they depleting their personal resources? Are they being manipulated by abusers or users who will drain (or monopolize) their resources? Are they sacrificing their own needs too much (rest, eating right, health maintenance, time with their own family, etc…)?
Let’s keep a watchful eye out for those who might have a tendency to sacrifice all, and help them to notice that it’s okay to take some time out for themselves, to take a break, to eat a good meal, to spend time with loved ones, to take a vacation, a spa day – do something fun once and a while. Because oftentimes, the best givers are maintaining such a high level of giving, that they fail to take a moment to look at their own lives.
These mostly unsung super heroes receive expressions of gratitude and sometimes recognition or praise for their courageous acts of service but there is nothing more meaningful to someone who gives, and gives… as hearing those few words that they speak often when arriving on scene or meeting someone:
What can I do for you?
To those givers – who are giving your all – for the greater good, I honor your service.
And don’t be offended, when someone tries to get you to take a look at your own life, encouraging you to take some time to recharge and rejuvenate, so that you are better for continued service, without the threat of burnout (or worse).
Where would we be without you?
Keep an open mind and cherish those who support you in kind.
Loving you and all that you do
What about teachers?