When I was studying Divinity at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, I learned a valuable lesson on how to maintain my Inner Peace and that is,"As long as you are busy helping somebody else you will not have time to focus on what is going wrong in your life."
As a theological student, we were required to take a pastoral care class. The clinical portion of this class required each student to volunteer a certain amount of hours twice a week at a hospital, prison or church. The students were suppose to engage with the people who frequented the facilities and listen to what they had to say about their problems or what ever they were going through in their lives.You did not necessarily have to offer advice but if anyone wanted prayer, you were welcome to pray for them.
I decided to do my clinical hours at a nearby church in Atlanta, Georgia. At the church, I helped with the food bank and I was responsible for helping with the signing in process, bagging up the food, distributing the food and cleaning up. It did not take me long to notice that the majority of the people who came to get the free food were homeless people.
The food bank was opened from around 1o:00 am - 3pm on Mondays. Many of the homeless people would come to the church hours before the food bank actually opened to receive prayer. The others would come early in order to be the first in line and get the better choices of food.
I looked at the people's early arrival as my opportunity to get acquainted with them and earn my clinical hours. I was able to befriended a few people during the three months that I volunteered. Some people were eager to talk to me and others were standoffish.
I thought that working at the food bank was going to be stressful because at the time I was a full-time student, I had a full-time job and I still had to squeeze in the time to do my clinical. Instead of being stressed, something wonderful happened to me as I befriended and served the homeless. I discovered that as long as I was helping them, I was not concentrating on any of my problems.
Volunteering is a great way to help you maintain your Inner Peace because it keeps your mind focused on giving and when you are giving you are not focusing on "self." If you would like to volunteer, you can look in your local phone book for tons of opportunities.
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2 comments:
What a wonderful post and a great reminder that worry and fear happen when we are thinking of 'ME'...how will it affect ME, what about MY needs, what can I do about what is happening to ME.
We all do it, that's why it is great to have reminders. I use my dog, Rika, a lot to get me out of myself. When I walk away from my concerns to play with her or take her for a walk and experience how grateful she is that she gets to experience these simple pleasures... well it's humbling.
Another thing I do to help me get out of worrying is to practice contemplation. When I take the time to do this discipline everyday I find myself being transported to planes of existence that are on a higher level and I have the opportunity to communicate with beings that live at a higher frequency.
So when I am in contemplation I can ask these beings...'What can I do to be of service today?' It is amazing what I hear in response and what shows up for me in the physical world when I do this.
I recently read an incredible book called 'Wake Up! Your Life is Calling' it's by a man named Andy Feld and he explains these ideas in a concise and intelligent way and gives practical ways to develop this practice.
Anyway... thanks for listening!
Kim
Hi Kim. Thanks for sharing.I agree with you that pets are definitely a wonderful way to maintain your mental state of peace because when you are focused on the act of giving love and caring for others then you do not have time to focus on the things that may possibly be troubling you.
I look forward to reading "Wake Up Your Life is Calling" and sharing with you my insights. Peace and Blessings
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