Update on Service vs. Service

April 8, 2009 at 5:23 am (Baha'i, Career, Faith, Service, Verdanta, audiobooks, business, life balance, volunteering)

In a recent blog, I was conflicted because I felt like one area of service in my life was competing with another. It didn’t help when my beloved ABM (Auxiliary Board Member) reminded me that the 4 core activities are THE most important thing we should be working on right now.    

Well, as of today, with the help of my ATC (Area Teaching Committee) Secretary, I’ve offloaded a significant portion of my responsibility.  I will continue to support the core activities through tutoring, teaching, etc…, but I will do it within clearly defined time slots.  (A discipline issue on my part.)

But the biggest update for me is that I’ve finally uncovered the one detail that I missed when I originally wrote this blog entry: if I weren’t working on Verdanta, I would be working somewhere else, and it probably wouldn’t have ANYTHING to do with the Baha’i Faith, nor would it be as flexible or fulfilling as Verdanta.

It’s all going to work out just fine.  I knew it would.  Didn’t you?

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The dilemma of service

March 11, 2009 at 12:47 am (Baha'i, Faith, Service, Verdanta, Work)
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I have to be careful here, because blogging is a short step away from confession which as a Baha’i, I am forbidden to do.  But I’ve been struggling with something, and it’s something that I hope other people are – or will be – struggling with more and more:

What do you do when one aspect of your service gets in the way of another aspect of your service? 

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve spent hundreds of hours starting an audiobook business as a way to serve Baha’u'llah, humanity and my family all at the same time.

The process of starting Verdanta has been slow, with a lot of downtime.  So I used that free time to serve the Baha’i Faith through the teaching field, becoming more and more involved in my community’s expansion and consolidation activities.  It’s been so wonderfully rewarding!  I’ve learned so much, given and received so much, and grown so much because of it.  I could dedicate a whole blog to those activities alone.

But now the seed that Verdanta began as, has sprouted and begun to grow.  It’s to the point where if I’m going to make it work, I HAVE to start spending significant time recording and editing.  Much more than I have available right now around my teaching work. 

Both activities are intended to serve Baha’u'llah, so I ask again:

what do you do when one aspect of your service gets in the way of another?

On the one hand, the teaching work is the most important work there is, right?  And my friends in the field are all working so hard, are so dedicated, and I love them so much that I feel horribly guilty about abandoning them.

On the other hand, the audiobooks are also important.  Every time I turn around, someone is saying “I wish we had…” and I think to myself, “I can help with that!”  And why else would Baha’u'llah have me spend so much time and effort on it, opening so many doors along the way, if He didn’t want me to do it?  Complicating matters is an intensifying sense of urgency that’s been creeping over me, urging me to get to work on Verdanta.  It’s like an adrenaline rush, a sense of panic that I’m not doing what I need to be doing. 

I’ve prayed on it, and put it in Baha’u'llah’s hands.  I told my ATC secretary the dilemma I feel, and I’ve promised to keep up my teaching activities until I can be replaced.  I figure, since Baha’u'llah is in charge of personnel, when he’s ready for me to work on Verdanta full time, He’ll send in my replacement.   

Now all I have to do is be patient. 

Anyone have a spare cup of patience I can borrow?

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Mystery Job: Clues to date

September 9, 2008 at 12:34 am (Baha'i, Bliss, Career, Entrepreneur, Faith, Humanity, Mystery, Prayer, Reading, Religion, Service, audiobooks, business, life balance, spirituality, work as worship)

I thought I would summarize the breadcrumbs (aka “clues”) I have dropped so far, so you could see the trail of where I’ve already been laid out more clearly.  There have been a few hints I’ve dropped without labeling them as such, so we’ll see if you were paying attention!

  1. I’m a Baha’i
  2. I love to learn
  3. I love to read
  4. This new career involves at least one activity that requires “mushin”
  5. It allows me total freedom to set my schedule
  6. It lets me use my unique talents (public speaking, organization, leadership and communication) 
  7. It lets me serve humanity through the Baha’i Faith
  8. Books on CD
  9. It fills a need which I have identified in the world
  10. My mission through Verdanta is to “be always occupied with the mention of Baha’u'llah.”
  11. It involves building a business that aligns with the teachings of the Baha’i Faith
  12. My success depends on persistent, consistent, constant action.
  13. I have used the five steps described in “The Power of Prayer” to get where I am today.

That’s it so far.  I’ll even toss out one more:

  14.  It requires the purchase of quite a bit of equipment that must be installed, configured, and learned.

Has anyone figured it out yet?  Drop me a comment and let me know your guess!

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Exploring for-profit service: Does profit negate the service?

August 30, 2008 at 6:00 am (Baha'i, Career, Faith, Humanity, Mystery, Prayer, Religion, Service, Work, livelihood, perception, work as worship)
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Inside my head

I’m struggling with a conundrum: does “service” necessarily imply “without compensation?”  Must all service rendered to the Baha’i Faith be for free, or can one serve the Faith and earn a living from that service?   I believe there exists in our community a perception that service to the Faith should be offered up voluntarily, without compensation.  I admit to feeling that way myself.  But then I had the idea for this venture, and suddenly I was no longer sure that the matter was so black and white.  Here is why: there are some things which are simply too big for one person (or even a group of people)  to undertake solely on a volunteer basis.  Which means that if the job that needs to be done costs too much in the way of time, money or effort, it simply won’t get done.  I’ve spoken with several people who think that what I propose to do is very important to the Baha’i community.  Many before me have felt the same way.  They tried but failed.  (I’ve spoken to five people myself.)  I’m guessing that the reason they failed is because they wanted to do it “as a service to the community,” aka “for free.”  But those people had jobs and lives which didn’t leave them with enough time/money/energy to see the project through to the end. 

I’m very fortunate because at the moment, I have all these resources and a supportive (non-Baha’i) husband who is willing to let me give it a go.  However, if things don’t work out, I will eventually have to go find a paying job, which will doom my efforts as well. 

I really want to see this venture succeed.  Not for my sake, but for the sake of all the people who could potentially hear the name of Baha’u'llah through it.  But that can only happen if Verdanta can pay for itself, with a little left over to contribute to the support of my family.  Knowing all this, I am at peace running this business as a for-profit business. 

Enter: “others” 

I recently received an email from a colleague whose comment I thought meant he felt service to the Faith should be offered up for free.  (I apologize if I’m misrepresenting his feelings on this; I may be projecting my own confliction onto him).  The issue is, should this perception prove prevalent, it could cripple Verdanta  before it even gets off the ground.

Baha’u'llah tells us to strive to ”render service to the world of humanity.”   He also tells us that earning a livelihood “is a duty which, in this most great Revelation, hath been prescribed unto every one, and is accounted in the sight of God as a goodly deed.” 

Abdu’l-Baha told us to “Trust in God and engage in your work and practice economy; the confirmations of God shall descend and you will be enabled to pay off your debts. Be ye occupied always with the mention of Bahá’u'lláh and seek ye no other hope and desire save Him.” (Baha’i World Faith, p. 375)

So earning a living is a goodly deed, and the mission of my proposed occupation is to “be always occupied with the mention of Baha’u'llah.”  Often we think of these things as separate and distinct, but why?  What would Baha’u'llah say about a job that earns money AND serves the Faith?  I’d like to think He would be happy about it. 

The other aspect of service is wanting to serve as many people as possible.  If I do this on a volunteer basis, I will be limited in the number people I will ultimately serve.  Why?  Because I will have to go out and find a paying job, thereby leaving me much less time (and even less energy) to tackle something as ambitious as what I am proposing. 

Service: free or fee?

The culture I live in – America – loves to think of everything in terms of either/or.  But the heart and soul of the Baha’i Faith is based on “both/and.”  Is science right or religion?  They both are.  Jesus or Muhammad?  Both.  So can I serve the Baha’i community and earn a living?   I believe I can, but ultimately, it is up to Baha’u'llah. I lay all my affairs in His capable hands, and I pray that He only let me succeed if He deems this venture good and worthy.

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Service to Humanity is All About Seeing a Need and Filling it

August 24, 2008 at 6:30 am (Baha'i, Career, Entrepreneur, Humanity, Mystery, Passion, Service, Work)

A few years ago, an animated movie called “Robots” came out.  The kids and I enjoyed it, and one line really stuck with me: “See a need, fill a need.”  That’s what it’s all about in life, isn’t it?  Especially if your goal is to find a way to serve humanity in some way, and thereby help to make the world a better place. 

There are many many ways to do this of course, but I wanted to find the one that met all of my other criteria as well: utilizes my talents, engages my passions, feeds my learning addiction, flexible hours, everything I’ve blogged about so far and more.

Earlier this year, I saw a need.  Ever since then, I’ve been working steadily to find a way to fill that need.  I’m approaching the point in time when my efforts will begin to bear fruit.  Small fruit at first, of course, but fruit nonetheless.

And that is clue #9: My new job will fill a need which I have identified in the world.

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Mystery job: Clue #7

August 15, 2008 at 4:37 pm (Baha'i, Bliss, Career, Faith, Humanity, Mother, Mystery, Parenthood, Passion, Religion, Service, Wife, Work, spirituality, work as worship)

The other night, my son was complaining about his homework load.  Dad tried to say that he (Dad) had to do homework for 8 hours a day and wasn’t that much worse?  My son said, “Dad, you’re not doing homework, that’s just work.  But you’re right, it’s not fun either.  Work isn’t supposed to be fun.” 

When he said that, I felt a little sad.  He’s already figured out that work is something you do because you have to, not because you enjoy it.  I interjected, “Well, it’s not fun for a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a job doing something you enjoy.  In fact, that’s what you should try to do!”  He answered, “Really? Pumpkin pie, Mom.”  That’s his code word for “tell the truth,” like that was too crazy to be true. 

A lot of people have talked about finding their bliss.  I, like many others, enjoy a lot of different things.  It’s more a matter of figuring out how to use some combination of those passions to support your family.  I’ve done a lot of reading, taken some seminars, and explored several possible avenues as potential “blisses.”  Unfortunately, for one reason or another, none of them have panned out.  I tried teaching at the local community college.  I’ve been offered my old engineering job back.  I’ve volunteered on several projects, including service projects.  I’ve even looked into real estate and stock market investing, right before both crashed.  While the learning was valuable, the end destination was never the magic panacea I was hoping for.   Something was always missing: time with my family, flexibility, stability, service to humanity… 

Baha’u'llah told us that “any work performed in the spirit of service is exalted to the level of worship.”  That could be anything from mopping floors to running a mega-corporation.  As long as the work is done to the utmost of one’s ability, with the attitude towards that work being one of wanting to improve the lot of humanity, then it is just as praiseworthy as going to Church, or sitting in meditation, praying.  I decided I wanted to find a job that lets me serve humanity in some fashion, preferably directly through the Baha’i Faith. 

Elsewhere, I’ve listed the requirements of “my perfect job,” including that it must “engage my passions.” As long as those passions are engaged, I will have a job that I can look forward to doing, rather than doing it because I must.  Serving humanity is one those passions.  I really want to do something that will make the world a better place, in a rather concrete, tangible way, and will hopefully outlast my little time here on earth. 

And that is Clue #7: My new career will allow me to serve humanity through the Baha’i Faith.

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