– or being of service to others
When it comes to releasing the vibration of fear from your body, mind, and heart, the biggest fear by far is that of death—the death of yourself and the death of your loved ones. In the spiritual realm, it is the death of that individual ego that is most feared, but beyond the fear, the death of the ego leads to merger with the All.
A tale comes down to us from ancient China about a woman who was deep in grief over the death of her son, not accepting its reality. In desperation, she went to see a holy man and asked him what could be done to restore her son’s life.
This wise man knew that there was no way to reason with someone who is lost in emotional turmoil, so he said to her, “Go from home to home and bring me a mustard seed from a family that has never been visited by sorrow. This mustard seed will release your sorrow.”
A magical mustard seed! The woman thanked the holy man and took off immediately to begin her search. And search she did. First, she went to a big, beautiful mansion. Surely people who were that rich had never known sorrow. But when she asked, they said, “We have had many deaths in our family, and much sorrow and grief.”
The woman felt sorry for them, and realized that she, who had experienced such grief herself, could comfort them. She did what she could, then went on to the next household. But once again she heard another tale of woe. And on it went. Every door she knocked on revealed more stories of loss and misfortune.
Being a kind-hearted woman, she always spent time comforting the bereaved and sorrowing folks she met. She was so busy helping others that she completely forgot about her original mission of finding a mustard seed from a house that had known no sorrow. Being in service to others had banished the sorrow from her own life.
Albert Schweitzer, a Nobel Prize-winning physician, theologian, humanitarian, and gifted musician, said it very simply: “You will never be happy until you have found a way to serve.”
Being in service to mankind and all life is the way to remove any fears you may be harboring, including the fear of death.
Think of the ways in which you might offer your gifts to those who are suffering. It could be through direct ministration to humans or animals or plant life or in saving the planet’s environment. It could be through the creation of more beauty and harmony in the world, whether through music or art or intellectual or spiritual understanding. It could be through martialing your warrior spirit to fight injustice whenever and wherever it arises. It could be as simple as offering a helping hand to a friend, buying lunch for a homeless person, or mentoring a child, or as community minded as manning a voting place, sitting on a school board, or working in public health.
The paths to releasing fear and serving Love are endless, and the search for the mustard seed in a place of no suffering can lead you to the path you were meant to follow.
Original source unknown.
