Serving is Key
This past week I attended a community luncheon. Settling into my chair for the presentation, I prepped my mind to drift, I had pen and paper ready to start jotting a to-do list, grocery list and make a plan for the afternoon. Rather than drift, the speaker captivated my attention as he launched into stories of the strong women who shaped him, of the lessons he learned from his mom, and how he would not be who is today if these women had not taken the time to invest in him.
Somewhere in his speech, he shared a favorite saying, “Serve the song you are singing, not your ego.” The line stuck out to me, so much so, I jotted it down, and have spent the past few days rolling it around my head. The line speaks to me, it screams to me and makes me question myself. How often do we volunteer to do something, step up for a role no one wants, because it inflates our ego, not because of the work we can do? How often do we focus on what a role, position, or situation can get us, and not on what we can invest into the moment, what we can give to others, what we can share of ourselves?
I know I am guilty of this, of stepping up to look good, to be noticed, and not because of the work I could do. Thinking about the phrase, thinking about decisions I have made, I became ashamed, disappointed in myself. Life is not about being the star, the notice we get, or how something will make us look. When we focus on our ego, we miss the moment, our performance is stagnant, lacking authenticity. More often than not, our egos steal the show, become the annoying understudy who will do anything to make the star fail, so they can have the spotlight, so they can shine in the moment. Our egos will take over, driving us to do and say things to be noticed, purposely overlooking the song, the moment, and the needs of others.
When we focus on the song we serve, when we allow our service to take center stage, the moment shines, pieces coming together in perfect harmony. The song we serve is whatever task we are doing, mopping the floor, cleaning toilets, staring in a Broadway play. When we place 100% of our focus on what we have been assigned to do, not on what we will get from the act, or how we can claim attention, our work is lifted up, highlighted, and without even trying we become the stars.
As a mom, business owner, former nonprofit CEO, and proud rescue dog mom, I can tell you, promise you, that when I focused on singing the song I was given, and not on myself, things turned out better than I could have ever imagined. Trust me, there were several messy moments, multiple times I called my parents and said I couldn’t do it. There were moments, balancing graduate school, a career, a small child, and being part of my grandparents’ caregiving team that I thought I would die. I was focused on the stress, on my ego, not on the song. You see every time I focus on the song, things work out, time stretches, and energy multiples. I have been shown time and time again that life is not about me, it never is. It is about honoring the song of the moment, to focus on the one, or many tasks, we have been given.
The reminder of focusing on the song came just when I needed it the most. As I sat and listened to the speech, feeling like a failure as my 5-month-old puppy destroyed an entire case of paper while I taught a statewide class, everyone saw and everyone heard me tell her to stop, I realized no one cared. We all have moments, we all have challenges. The attendees were present because of the class, not me, not my puppy. Thankfully, I had moments when I focused 100% on the song of teaching, making the class a success.
Sincerely,
Sara
