Great Gratitudes once again to the great city of Chicago and its lovely inhabitants for another Wonder-filled stay … This time around, I was blessed with the humbling re-discovery that sometimes the best way to serve others is by gently choosing to not “help” them!  I was originally called to the Windy City to help care for three boys (ages 7.5, 7.5 & 4), and yet it became quickly apparent that my presence was riling them up (we did enJOY playing together!) instead of calming them down (like their mother had desired) … So, to both our credit, my maternal Friend and I agreed that the best way to provide the Peace-of-mind that was originally requested was for me to simply “fade out” of their family life.  How humbling — and how Wonder-full (as I was able to easily find others nearby for whom my presence proved to be a solace — primarily performing various “grunt work” jobs for a civil rights law firm) …

It truly does seem necessary to maintain intense levels of Humility to then be able to provide others with intense levels of Service, so this was one visit that proved more priceless than most in that regard.

I was also blessed with two side-trips during this time:  one to Wisconsin to visit with my Friends Cecile & Dennis (where I was able to have a couple of lovely evenings sharing my message of “radical Kindness” with two different local groups — bracketing an afternoon of splitting wood with Dennis), and another to Vermont to visit again with my dear Friends Deb & Mark (and their two lovely children Ezra & Talia).   Both of these visits were rife with both intimate Friendship and opportunities to serve, and I am still very thankful to have been called upon by them …

Filed under: z Whereabouts of mySelf by Scaughdt