Today’s Mandala Message: The Value of Volunteering (part 1)
This week I’m working through Principles #61 and #62: Give More to Get More and Find a Way to Serve of Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles”. We continue with more money principles (56-62) and our relationship with it. I set my intention today to ponder the value of volunteering. Canfield states: “When you volunteer, you will get back a whole lot more than you give. Research on volunteerism shows that people who volunteer live longer, have stronger immune systems, have few heart attacks, recover from heart attacks faster, have higher self-esteem, and have a deeper sense of meaning and purpose than those who don’t volunteer.”
As I stated in a previous post this week, I mostly volunteer my time creating free mandalas for people to download and color. Over the years (decades), I’ve done more traditional volunteering: participated in local women’s group that raised money for charities, directed a church choir, tutored kids in school, created websites for several different organizations, helped decorate floats for the new year’s day Rose Parade, led several community art projects, and so on.
Since The Covid I have yet to get back into doing any in-pubic volunteer work. Part of me is hesitant because I’m usually hit up to do more than I’m able to or want to. For instance I dropped a bunch of my coloring books to a local shelter for teens and was then asked if I would teach art to the kids; then I had to deal with feeling bad because I said no.
I do know that when I am able to help others, it does feel good. I’ll need to ponder today’s MotD some more to see how best to be of service.
A good mindfulness practice would be to notice how it feels when you’re able to help others.
So how about you? Do you do any volunteer work? How does it make you feel? What type of volunteer work do you prefer?
“You give but little
— Khalil Gibran
when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself
that you truly give.”
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in more of a self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”. You can download this mandala at MandalaoftheWeek.com.
Mandala of the Day 