Service is the Rent We Pay for Living
Two 20th-century African American activists—Shirley Chisholm and Marian Wright Edelman—popularized the saying that titles this session, inspiring us to regard service as a noble duty. The story at the heart of the session, “Arjuna’s Service to His People,” illustrates how public service work can be hard, underappreciated, controversial, unpleasant and risky. Yet, we are all called to sustain our community by working at the tasks required to feed, protect and nurture us all.
Take Home
See if you can identify the people in your community who perform needed services, particularly the risky, unpleasant and difficult jobs. You might mention military service people, sanitation workers, funeral directors, water or electric utility workers, police officers, firefighters, assisted living staff, hazardous waste clean-up professionals, bus drivers, teachers or public administrators. How many of these individuals can you identify by name? What are some ways you do, or could, express appreciation of the service they do? What are some ways you could contribute to the jobs others perform on your behalf?
Check it out: Session 10
