This morning, as I saw a beautiful garden filled with flowers greeting a new shining sun, I started thinking about the services that we all need and that we all offer to each other. Every single thing in this universe is able to produce something for others. We all depend on one another. We all give and we all receive.
I thought how those flowers serve bees and other insects by giving them pollen, and with this little act, the little bees can go and produce their honey, which is then served in our breakfast on hot cakes, and is found in so many other dishes! When the bees fly to other places, they take pollen which then fertilizes other flowers and allows them to grow.
I thought about the service we give when we help other people by doing our jobs with joy. As a manager, as a milkman, as a doctor, as an office clerk, as a lawyer, as a painter, as a writer, as a housewife, as a cook, whatever it is that we do, there’s implicit service that uplifts others with positive results. We can get paid for what we do, but someone, somehow, depends on us. Just think about how many souls are involved when we travel on a plane to get to our destination safely.
Taking it further, just think about your parents and how you serve them just by loving them. When we love, we are serving. We are feeding others feelings; we are empowering and supporting them. We all need love. We all feel good with a smile. What a service!
What kind of service are we giving? Let it be as beautiful as a flower greeting a new shining sun!
【日积月累】
pollen n. 花粉
fertilize v. 施肥;使受精
implicit adj. 暗示的，内含的
uplift v. 鼓舞，使振奋
empower v. 给(某人)……力量
【参考译文】
付出与收获
今天早上，当我看到一个长满鲜花的美丽花园迎接着新的一轮朝阳时，我开始想我们需要的那些服务以及我们提供给彼此的服务。在这个世界里每一件事物都能为其他事物效劳。我们互相依靠。我们全都在付出，同时也在收获。
我想到了鲜花是如何服务蜜蜂和其他昆虫的，它们提供自己的花粉，通过这一小小的举动，小蜜蜂就可以飞回去生产出蜂蜜——蜂蜜再出现在我们早餐热烘烘的蛋糕里，以及其他各种菜肴里。蜜蜂飞到其他地方，它们身上带着花粉就给其他鲜花受了精，使它们得以继续生长。
我想到了当我们开心地做好自己的工作的时候，同时我们也就为别人提供了服务。经理、送牛奶的人、办公室文员、医生、律师、画家、作家、家庭主妇、厨师，不管我们从事的是什么工作么，其中都含有为人服务的成分，都能鼓舞人心，带来积极的效果。尽管我们的工作是有报酬的，但是有些人在某个程度上依赖着我们。就想想我们要起坐飞机安全地到达目的地，这其中会涉及多少人在提供服务。
再深入一点，想想你的父母，想想你是如何通过爱他们来为他们服务的。当我们爱着别人时，我们就是在做服务。我们在满足他们的情感需求，我们在鼓舞和支持他们。我们所有人都需要爱。每个人都喜欢别人笑脸相迎。微笑也是一种不可或缺的服务啊!
我们要给人一种什么样的服务呢?就让它像一株迎接朝阳的花朵般美丽吧。
【人生启迪】帮助他人的方式有很多种，最平常的就是做好你份内的事。如果你是银行出纳，你准确快速地办理好客户的业务，就帮了他们一个大忙。所以不管我们的工作是什么，我们都应该用心做好，因为我们的付出给别人带去了快乐。