Humility, simplicity, passion

Humility, simplicity and passion are concepts that may not intially seem to go together. But the more I work with great people, the more I see these three chracteristics.

Humility is essential for beginner's mind, the great opener of doors. Humility encompasses openness and implies a focus on others as much as, or evern more than, focus on the self. It also implies self-confidence and authenticity.

Simplicity makes things easy, clears obstacles, allows flow.

Passion is really love manifested in action; it's contagious, it enables us to continue, to persevere, to forget ourselves in the doing.

Daily service: Feeling right

My husband is a wonderful teacher. He gives more as a teacher than any other I've encountered, and one of his secrets is that he puts "feeling right" ahead of preparation. For him, being in the right space to teach and to be present is the most important thing.

One of the things I love about the concept of feeling right is that it's highly personal. For many teachers, being completely prepared is necessary in order to feel right. For others, it could be a question of feeling well physically, or staring the day with exercise or breakfast. It could involve some small ritual before class.

Giving service on a daily basis is also about feeling right, I think. If you feel right, it means that you're open to what happens, you have a sense of equilibrium, and you feel confident in approaching the challenges of the day. Of course, simply depending on your mood isn't going to work. What might work is some kind of practice, whether it's putting your apron on the way you like it, reviewing any news there might be, or having your favorite tea. Practice will help to set the stage for giving great service.

What if you simply don't feel right? Then the only thing is to do your best. It may be that getting started serving customers or teaching will start to change the way you feel. It may be that focusing on others will help you start to feel right. The main thing is to pay attention to yourself, to learn to care for yourself as you develop more awareness about your own sense of well being.