February 23rd is the birthday of Rotary. Paul Harris, was 37 when he gathered some professional connections and they formed the world’s first service club in Chicago in 1905.
Service is action in support of others. A small action can make a difference. It isn’t about glamour; it’s about need. A toilet is a rather basic thing, but the simple addition of public toilets in down town Chicago in 1907 surely offered the blissful relief of basic urgencies for many a person!
Let us remember that service is about meeting the needs of others, and that when we serve those needs, we can provide blissful relief at the most basic level. Let us be thankful we have the means and ability to change lives with our most simple service.
© Shawn Bird 2012. Free use within Rotary. Please credit Shawn’s authorship, and leave a message in the Comment area below explaining when and where you used her words. Thanks!
inspiring whales… April 20, 2012
Tags: appreciation, divers, entrapped, Facebook, gratitude, humpback whale, invocation, Rotary
On my Facebook feed today was the inspiring story of divers who rescued an entrapped humpback whale, and the inspiring appreciation she showed for their efforts.
Attending to due diligence, I investigated the story and discovered on the urban legends.com site (I sure hope no one ever discredits them) that the story was in fact true.
Here is a link to the original newspaper article relating the event that happened in 2005 off the coast of San Francisco.
I really like how the anonymous Facebook poster summarized the significance of this experience:
Both giving gratitude and receiving it provide joy. While troubles shared are halved, gratitude doubles joy. I like the math.
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