Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/ooyoo
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
--Maya Angelou
Stewardship is perhaps the highest level of self-care there is. That may sound surprising at first, but look at the area that comes to mind first for many of us. When we're working toward a cleaner environment, we're serving the Earth and all its present and future inhabitants, including ourselves!
Stewardship is a great example of "what goes around comes around." Receiving is just as much a part of stewardship as serving is.
Have you ever noticed what a deflating feeling it is when someone refuses your act of kindness? Giving is very rewarding, and so is graciously receiving from others. Acts of stewardship are the multi-taskers of life!
Below is a list of several things we do in everyday life that help others and ourselves (multi-tasking), often without thinking about their value as acts of stewardship:
- Caring for your personal environment, including your physical well-being.
- Working in the helping professions and/or the non-profit sector.
- Volunteering.
- Sharing your knowledge and wisdom.
- Cooperating and collaborating with others.
- Letting it be known when you need help.
- Taking responsibility for your roles in your family.
- Developing compassionate and effective leadership skills.
- Being a great role model.
- Being responsible with money.
- Adopting a pet from a shelter.
- Helping people in need with compassion and respect.
- Envisioning the potential of the person you're helping.
- Teaching others how to help themselves over the long term.
Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/Brian Jackson
One of the best books I've seen on the possible frustrations of trying to help others is Do It Anyway, by Kent M. Keith. He has a list of ten "Paradoxical Commandments," such as "If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway." Another of my favorites is, "Honesty and frankness make you vunerable. Be honest and frank anyway."
Please don't give up on your stewardship efforts without reading Keith's book!
Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/Ivan Bajic
Handling your money wisely and teaching your children to do so is great role modeling. And the kids will be more likely to teach their own children this skill when they're ready for it. Now that's multitaking at its best!
I want to finish this post with a quote from David Heller's book, Children on Happiness.
"The secret of happiness is kindness...not just toward other people but being kind to yourself too." --Michael Y., at the age of ten
Your comments are welcome,
Susan
Mind Spa Coaching & Reiki
with Susan Cleaver
Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/CGinspiration
If you live in the greater Philadelphia or Reading, PA, area....
The Boyertown Health Fair will be on Saturday, March 31, 2012. It's organized by the Boyertown Area Community Wellness Council, and it's very family oriented. In fact, it's grandson-tested. We took ours three years in a row, and he loved it. This year, in January, he asked us if he could come with us this year. This kid really plans ahead!
The fair takes place at the Boyertown Area Senior High School. Please contact me for details at scleaver@dejazzd.com. The fair is complimentary, and I'll be giving free samples of Reiki and Life Coaching plus lots of resources!
P.S. to kids planning to attend: Feel welcome to bring along parents, grandparents, etc. They'll love it, too!
If you live ANYWHERE....
I'm offering special pricing of 25% off ALL of my services. And remember, Life Coaching can be done by phone or in person! The special pricing is subject to change after June 30, 2012.
**All of Susan's creative4life posts are (c) Susan Cleaver.**
**Member of the TriCounty Community Network at www.tcnetwork.org.**
Check out my post from April 1, 2008...it has been in the #1 spot for a while now as my most popular post! It's called, "When Opportunity Knocks....". Happy reading, and thanks for your support!
No comments:
Post a Comment