Do it Anway

A poem written by Kent Keith, made famous by Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.

My reason for posting this is in part from Discovering My Sacred Gifts. A few weekends ago I partook in this event and uncovered what I innately knew to be various aspects of who I am. When I am in a space of total ease and empowerment these gifts fly through me before I can even recognize they are working. One in particular, the gift of Service, has been a source of frustration in the past because people with this gift, like me, are always showing up, ready to do the work and are often relied upon by those in charge because of our desire and gift of being in service. We're damn good at what we do because we do whatever it takes to get the job done.

I've held some resentment towards others who have been on tasks with me for not showing up or doing their share and feeling taken advantage of at times. Now I understand that those people do not have that gift, they have different gifts and it doesn't matter the process, it is my gift to share and I must do it anyway so long as it is with joy. So now, when I'm doing a group task and I feel like I'm givin' it my all and others are lolly gagging, it's because my gift is being called out and either theirs isn't or they simply don't have it. So instead of getting frustrated and asking them to move faster or just let me do it, I smile and keep doing my tasks knowing that sooner or later the rest will get done exactly as it is supposed to. In the end the only thing that really matters is that we all show up when we hear the call and share our gifts anyways.... :)