The Real Beauty of Service

Rabindranath Tagore once said, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”

Nowadays,  some of  the  people  tend to  distinguish  very  carefully  between  the  times they’re going to do work or help other people and the times they’re going to use for their own enjoyment. They do work because these give them sources for their latter enjoyment, or they help other people simply because they only feel that it is what the situation demands from them. On the other side  of  the  spectrum,  they set  aside  time for the  things  that  would give  them satisfaction. They play video games or they travel to different countries because these give them happiness in their hearts, and indeed, this is not actually bad. In fact, it’s actually helpful for them to keep these times in order to appreciate better the things around them. However, if they let this lifestyle be the finality of their life, then, true enough, they would have missed a very important point.

I strongly believe that this point is one of the several insights Levinas wants to impart to those who have read his works. As one experiences  jouissance, one is able to identify clearly himself  as a being different from other people. One fully experiences the things he likes the most,  wherein the time seems to  be merely floating by.  However,  with this,  one sees every possibility  only  as  a  form of  nourishment  alone.  The  way  things  are  defined  is  always  in reference  to  the  person seeing  it.  Nevertheless,  the  full  experience  of  the  Face  calls  for  an interruption in our enjoyment. The other person’s face pleads the person looking to escape his own comfort zone and to be responsible for this other person. Even if the Face leaves a free response from the one looking, it allows him to question himself too, ‘what have I done to you and for you?”

Ultimately, one is called to do things for these people around us. A student does not studyfor himself alone, an employee does not work for himself alone and a teacher does not prepare lesson plans for himself alone. By realizing that the things we do are tied with our responsibility for the people around us, then, we can already say that indeed, genuine service gives joy not only to our hearts, but their hearts too.