Do you wish you were more happy? Do you see others experiencing joy and happiness and wonder how they do it? Or is your life relatively happy, but in a bit of a rut? The holidays can be a challenging time for many. There is laughter and joy, but perhaps a bitter sweet remembrance of those who are no longer with you. You may be lonely and isolated, or feel all alone even though you are surrounded by others. You may wonder how to become closer to your spouse or how to help a child who is struggling. How can you find peace and joy?
One amazing way is to look outside yourself and find opportunities to serve. There are many ways to serve others. We serve by being a friend. You may think it is winter and you want to hunker down each night with a good book. But perhaps you read that book, and invite others to join you at a local library or coffee shop to have a book chat about it. Or you write a post on the community Facebook and invite others to the movies or on a hike. I have been so touched by the love, care and friendship I see extended to all here in Juneau through social media. There is such a beauty in reaching out beyond ourselves to make community with others.
We can serve informally. I just saw a Facebook post asking for folks to help unload a truck at our local food bank. I see people asking for help with snow removal for the elderly. I have been so moved by the service rendered by the young missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their smiling faces as they render service to those in need in Juneau.
There are many places here in town to volunteer. When my sons were younger, we used to volunteer at the Pioneer Home. My one son would call the bingo games. My other son would just hang out at the card table and shuffle for them. You do not realize how nice it is to have the dexterity to shuffle cards until it is gone. His act of service was small, but meaningful to them. More importantly, as a 9-year-old, he learned of the good feelings we get when we reach out to others. I would sit at the puzzle table to work on a puzzle and would soon be joined by residents that loved to share the stories of their life over puzzles.
Serving comes with an infinite amount of blessings for those who chose to serve. Research has shown that service and volunteerism leads to lower rates of depression and anxiety. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Volunteering reduces stress and increases positive, relaxed feelings by releasing dopamine. By spending time in service to others, volunteers report feeling a sense of meaning and appreciation, both given and received, which can have a stress-reducing effect. People who volunteer have lower mortality rates than those who do not, even when controlling for age, gender and physical health.”
In this holiday season, there are many gifts that we can give to others. But the longer I live on this planet the more I come to believe that the biggest gift we can give to others is ourselves. Some of our time, some of our talents and some of our shared joy. Our Heavenly Father is not physically with us at this time, but if we will listen to the promptings we receive from Him, we can be His hands in blessing and serving others. He wants us to to increase in compassion, capacity and humility. He wants us to look after and care for one another. Service is a refiner and a bridge builder. When we serve others we nurture connection and fight isolation. We become a better version of ourselves as we reach out. If we serve others, we will have more peace and joy this holiday season and will spread true holiday cheer.
• Jacqueline F. Tupou is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Juneau. “Living and Growing” is a weekly column written by different authors and submitted by local clergy and spiritual leaders. It appears every Saturday on the Juneau Empire’s Faith page.
