It is through interactions with others that we develop self knowledge. That process can be contaminated by a strong negative influence (especially in our early years) that tells us we are not good enough, too lazy, crazy, bad, or ugly. Present day interactions with people who can see the whole of us rather than some small part that has grown in our minds to be all encompassing can help us find balance and perspective. My favorite definition of spirituality is being in harmony with self and others, something that can only happen if we are actually connected with both self and others.
Finding ways to be of service to others enhances both our relationship with them and with ourselves. Get to know your neighbors and offer support, whether it be something as simple as a smile and a wave or picking up trash blown into the street. Volunteering at a local organization, asking someone to play ball with you (pickle, racquet, basket or base) at your local park, holding the door for the person behind you at the grocery store, complementing someone’s skill or appearance, offering a compassionate shoulder for a friend to cry on, donating items you no longer use to charity shops, listening with the intention of understanding when people talk to you, telling the people you love that you love them, thanking service providers for their service, and practicing kindness has impact whether or not you can see it.
There is a story about a young girl walking along a beach strewn with stranded starfish. As she picks them up one by one and throws them back into the ocean a man approaches her and says “You’ll never save them all. What you are doing is hopeless; it doesn’t matter.” Her reply as she tosses one starfish back to the sea: “It matters to this one.” You may not be able to make a visible change in the world situation, but what you do does matter to the next person you interact with, and we never know how that might play out in the bigger picture.