A nugget of wisdom for us all, especially those who are activists and fighting the good fight, from Rachel Naomi Remen, MD:
Excerpt: “We can bless others only when we feel blessed ourselves. Blessing life may be more about learning how to celebrate life than learning how to fix life. It may require an appreciation of life as it is and an acceptance of much in life that we cannot understand. It may mean developing an eye for joy. It is not necessary to sit in judgment in order to move things forward, and our anger may not be the most potent tool for change. Most important, it requires the humility to know that we are not in this task of restoring the world alone…
“How can serving life make you happy?” he asked me. “Service requires sacrifice.”
But perhaps not. One of the fundamental principles of real service is taught many times a day aboard every airplane in the United States. Larry, who flies more than a million miles every year, had heard it hundreds of times without recognizing its relevance to him. It is the part just before takeoff when the stewardess says, “If the cabin loses pressure, the oxygen masks will fall from above. Put your own mask on first before you try to help the person next to you.” Service is based on the premise that all life is worthy of our support and commitment. For Larry, this was true of every life except his own.
If I wished to defeat those who wanted to use their lives to make a difference, this is exactly the way in which I would go about it. Few such people would be tempted from their purpose by fame, or power, or even by wealth. But I could confuse them and stop them in just the same way Larry found himself stopped. I could use their own dedication against them, driving them to work until they became so depleted and empty that they could no longer go on. I would make certain that they never discovered that blessing life is about filling yourself up so that your blessings overflow onto others.”
Excerpt From: Rachel Naomi Remen. “My Grandfather’s Blessings.” Apple Books.
