Service to Others

S P I R I T | How do you live well? What does it take? At LYW, we’ve scoured professional journals from multiple professions, read the works, attended the talks, and listened to the words of some of the most curious and “enlightened” people who seek the most in life. And, the one thing we’ve found over and over again is that service to others always tops the list. It’s built into the LYW Spirit Mainstay and a piece of living well.
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Oftentimes, people think of charitable acts like serving food to the homeless, donating money to well-deserved causes, volunteering to be a mentor to a youth, or neighborhood clean-ups as acts of service. Yes, these are all acts of service and can have a positive impact on our wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of others. However, as part of the collective wellbeing as humans and inhabitants on this planet, we must also acknowledge and talk about structural problems that affect everyone’s wellbeing like poverty, racism, access to holistic healthcare, and even climate change. We must come to see these problems for what they are: prejudice with severe consequences and barriers to the wellbeing for scores of womxn. Acts of service include speaking up for those of us who are dismissed, discounted or disenfranchised. It includes changing the perceptions about who and what is deserving of our care and attention, and the wellbeing of every single one of us. #liveyourwell