Muhammad Ali said it best:
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
It’s no secret that helping others makes the world a better place.
However, one of the most amazing side effects of serving others is the positive repercussions that service brings for our own healing.
There is a mountain of scientific evidence that shows how helping others can have a positive effect on depression and how happy we are, right through to lowering our blood pressure and even prolonging our life expectancy!
I wanted to share my top three positive outcomes from participating in Broken to Brilliant with the hope and intention of helping others.
Connection
When I first approached Broken to Brilliant, I was looking for a way to volunteer my time to help others who had similar past experiences to myself.
What I gained was a very rare connection with a group of women from differing walks of life, coming together with the intention of helping one another, and the wider community of survivors.
Helping others where there is a common thread creates a unique and very special connection, and empowers us to move forward feeling supported and appreciated.
Purpose
When I joined the Broken to Brilliant family, I was hoping to find a way to give more of what I had learned to try to help others with their own healing.
Being able to do this through writing, sharing my experiences, and reaching others has given me a great sense of purpose.
I have also learned that service to others does not have to be grand gestures. When we help others in any capacity, no matter how small, there is meaning and purpose in that.
Perspective
Helping others gives us the opportunity to have a small insight into someone else’s life.
Hearing someone else’s story – their struggles and their triumphs – can be powerful in altering our own perspective.
During the course of the GEMS program, I have found myself often feeling very grateful for my circumstances, and I was grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve.
There is no doubt that through helping others, we help ourselves. We can learn, heal, grow and find our purpose through our service to society.
All in all, to serve is a gift. I hope to keep paying the rent for my place here on earth for many years to come.
Blogging GEMS program
This Blog is a part of the Blogging GEMS program, which supports domestic violence survivors to practise the self-care strategies of Gratitude, Exercise, Mindfulness, Support, and Service (GEMS). As they practise the strategies, they blog about it.you can read their survivor GEMS Blogs:
Gratitude Blogs:
Exercise Blogs
Mindfulness Meditation Blogs:
Service Blogs