The Call to Elder Service

During this time of deep disturbance in the Force that we all feel, I’m reflecting on a phrase from the Talmud:

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. . . You are not required to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”

The teaching of service appears in every religious tradition: In Judaism, tikkun olam means “repairing the world,” or gathering the holy sparks that are scattered in creation through generous acts of service. The performance of good deeds (or mitzvot in the story) is one way of repairing the world, along with Torah study and ritual commandments. In Christianity, service and good works are an attempt to imitate the life of Christ. In Sufism, service means serving the Beloved by serving others. In Buddhism, service and compassion for loved ones, teachers, and all living beings are part of the Eightfold Path and the Bodhisattva vow. Thich Nhat Hahn extended these teachings into “engaged Buddhism” by applying them to social, political, and environmental injustice.

In Hinduism, karma yoga is a path to the divine that purifies the mind and opens the heart. Its proponents teach that selfless right action is a kind of prayer because it’s performed for the benefit of others, without the ego’s attachment to outcomes. With karma yoga, we focus on the actions of daily life as spiritual practice.

Many people are becoming Earth Elders, Activist Elders, Spiritual Elders. Do you hear the call to Elder service, to contribute to something larger than yourself? Can you identify the issue, cause, or candidate that arouses the most passion in you?

Imagine yourself standing up in the public arena about this. Do you feel less powerless? Can you find your voice?

If not, what stops you? Can you identify the voice of a shadow and romance it, so that it doesn’t keep you from giving your gift of service?

When I spoke recently with Integral/transpersonal psychiatrist Roger Walsh, he outlined for me this path of service as a path of evolution:

1. Stop before activity, breathe, become present to your purpose.
2. Offer the activity to God or the Divine, as you understand this.
3. Choose an intention: Ask what is this for? (survival, comfort, awakening, the benefit of others).
4. Do the activity as impeccably as you can.
5. Be mindful, observing your actions, intentions, and mental state.
6. Work with any reactions that arise, such as anxiety, anger, pride, hope, disappointment, and use shadow-work here.
7. Release attachment to the outcome. Use the witness to let it go.
8. Stop at the end of the activity.
9. Reflect and learn about your action, its results, your ego, your mind, your attachments.
10. Offer the benefits to the well-being of all.

Roger pointed out that these guidelines combine a transpersonal motive beyond ego, a commitment to impeccability that requires cutting through personal blocks, and a letting go of egocentric control. “We go into ourselves in spiritual practice to go more effectively out into the world,” Roger told me. “And we go out into the world in order to go deeper into ourselves through the practice of karma yoga and awakening service. And we repeat this cycle until we realize that we and the world are one.”

All of the great perennial traditions teach about the evolution of the soul through service. By opening to the momentary circumstances of our lives and attuning to the inner call, reaching past our small self-preoccupations, letting go of our ego’s agenda, and connecting with the soul of another, Elder service becomes a spiritual path.

Now is the time to stand in the public square, march, organize, teach, write, and support those leaders whose values resonate in you and whose visions offer hope. Now is the time to have the backs of the youth who are fueling social justice movements.

Now is the time to give the gift that only you can give.

Connie Zweig, Ph.D., is a CSL, retired therapist, and author of the new bestseller The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul, which extends her work on the Shadow into midlife and beyond. She is a wife, stepmother, and grandmother. After all these roles, she’s practicing the shift from role to soul.