Lynne Twist and Charles Garfield on the Spirit of Service

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In this engaging interview, New Dimensions radio host Michael Toms talks with Lynne Twist, founding executive of the Hunger Project, and Charles Garfield, founder of Shanti, about the transformative spirit of service.

Charles discusses how the need to preserve others is as strong a human drive as self-preservation, and exalts the service of “citizen advocacy” (expecting the best from ourselves, offering it to others, and being transformed in the process) as “sublimely motivating” – the giver receives much more than s/he gives. Lynne points out that most people will give up anything to make a difference in their lives, to express a stand that is larger than themselves. She explains that there is a front and back side to the hand of hunger: the front being the billions of people starving from food deprivation, and the back comprised of the billions starved for meaning, for value in their lives.

Neither Charles nor Lynne makes a distinction between their service and their spiritual practice, saying they are one and the same. They note that many people tend to compartmentalize their lives (family, work, service, spiritual practice) then grapple with trying to find a balance. Lynne shares a quote from the Zen Buddhist text that captures the joy and wholeness that her life of service provides:

The person who is a master in the art of living makes little
distinction between their work and their play,
their labor and their leisure, their mind and their body,
their education and their recreation,
their love and their religion.
They hardly know which is which.
They simply pursue their vision of excellence and grace in whatever they do,
leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing.
To them, they are always doing both.

This presentation includes tips for becoming a “master in the art of living” through service.