The holiday season just past assures us that given a reminder, we're ready to offer our service to those among us whose basic needs remain unmet. A dominant gene of kind generosity lights up and comes into play, and donating time, clothing, food and money allows us to feel once again that we've accomplished what is necessary to the lives of others. Pages of the calendar go flipping past, and to our surprise next holiday season, we discover that a memory deficit arose during the year.

A major storm or a catastrophe reminds us that life is about community, about the give and take of relationships. If the reason for our lives is that we're here is to learn about love, and I believe that it is, probably one of the most available ways to learn is through the power of service to others.

To remember to be of good will (and that includes to your own self!) is a discipline strived for by the saints. If this is your aspiration, aren't you in good company! To do a good deed without expectation of reward or recognition is a sacred act, an accord between you and what you acknowledge as the Most High. Some of us offer comfort easily; for others, the wisdom, adventure and, often, courage, to reach outside of self is arrived at through trepidation.

To say that the good work of volunteering service -- of any kind - where it is needed, returns tenfold to the giver is quite real. To know its truth, you have to experience it for yourself!

This article is just a beginning. Add your own inspiration to this feature. Tell us about your experience and discoveries and in the months to come, we'll print a review. Write to us at P.O. Box 1342, Morton Grove, IL 60053; fax it to 847/966-6535; or e-mail tma@lightworks.com. -- June Rouse

Generosity is the heart of practice….we become genuinely free when we feel our gift given to another is, at the very same moment, a gift received in our own heart.

In quiet prayer and meditation, in the rich mix of contemplation and reflection, the confines of the self become more elastic. We begin to feel a tangible, palpable communion with the spirit of the divine that saturates all life and unites us with the family of the Earth.

In this moment, a natural impulse can arise from deep within us - an impulse to be generous and kind to our loved ones, our families, even strangers in our communities. Generosity is the heart of practice; spiritual teachers everywhere honor generosity as the inevitable fruit of spiritual life. "Love thy neighbor as thyself," says Jesus. The Buddha concurs: "Beings are numberless - I vow to save them all." Moses counseled Jews to love and serve the stranger, the widow, the orphan. Mohammed taught that charitable loving kindness was one of the Five Pillars of Islam. These are not legislative prescriptions to sacrifice ourselves in service to others. Rather, they are gentle reminders that we become genuinely free when we feel our gift given to another is, at the very same moment, a gift received in our own heart.

Seeking to be kind, we meet all manner of fears, hesitations and uncertainties. Perhaps what we have to offer will not be effective or important enough? The problems of the world are so daunting and complicated - what if our offering is not worthy? What if my small effort is not sufficiently powerful to be noticed? How do we know the right solution, the perfect thing to heal what is needed?

Jesus suggested that these questions block our natural kindness. Be kind in small things, he said, and you will be kind in great things. He held up models: the good Samaritan who goes out of his way to help, completely anonymous, and seeks no reward; the ragged woman at the temple who quietly drops her two pennies in the poor box. As Mother Teresa reminded us, we can do no great things, only small things with great love.

…Perhaps you hear a call, perhaps you have a gift you ache to offer. Offer it now. The greatest healing we can invoke for ourselves - and all sentient beings - is simply this: to liberate our natural generosity.

Wayne Muller is a therapist, retreat leader, minister and author. His latest book is Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest. The above passage is quoted from Connections, a magazine from the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

Each year since 1987, the Institute of Noetic Sciences has presented awards for creative altruism to one or more persons. They have asked, "How can we create a society that supports and encourages empathy and altruism?" and answered it by asserting, "One way is to honor those individuals who have dedicated their lives to helping others - demonstrating the transformative power of love, compassion, unselfish service, and commitment."

* FIGHT WORLD HUNGER WITH THE CLICK OF A KEY! We discovered a wonderful website sponsored by a number of major companies. For the time it takes to access it at thehungersite.com, the corporate world will contribute money to help alleviate world hunger. An incredible amount of food has already been donated to worthy places you'll see flash on, on a map of the world. Bookmark the site and at no cost out of pocket, you'll be making a contribution! thehungersite.com was created so that you can fight world hunger just by clicking a button. A worthy way to spend a few seconds of your time, and a very clever use of the Internet. Check it out and click every day!

* You don't have to depend on the Internet. Call a reference librarian or a place of worship for resources and lists of contacts. Your Alderman may know about the needs of neighbors.

* Volunteer Your Time and Energy - from THE ART OF ECSTASY: The Seven Tantric Keys for Bringing Passion, Spirit and Joy into Every Part of Your Life by Margot Anand

You do not have to live in an ashram to have an ecstatic work experience, nor do you have to give up your career to be of service. Hughes Goodwin is a financial counselor who works with people to articulate their life goals and plan their financial futures. He directs a financial investment company that manages millions of dollars. One of his tasks is to manage people's savings, and he always asks them this basic question: "What do you want out of your life?" What Goodwin wanted out of his own life was to be of service to others, and his volunteer work has been a great source of spiritual nourishment. Every year, he and his family take on a special project.

"One year I went down to Nicaragua with my family - my wife and my eleven-year-old son and fourteen-year-old daughter - and we helped them build schools for their villages. I realized down there how wealthy I was compared to these people who had few material possessions, and that I would be okay if I had nothing because I was happy within myself as it was. Money wasn't who I was, and my life wasn't about pursuing money for money's sake. I had to have a higher purpose."

* volunteermatch.com is one of the excellent paths for discovering who and what to contact to do volunteer work. Their website invites non-profit organizations to register their needs, and CityMatch plugs you into your community - of which the Chicago area is but one. You can click to search their nonprofit directory and to check out the virtual volunteer opportunities as well.

¯ AN INSPIRING BOOK, The Courage to Give tells thirty stories of people, both famous and unknown, who have suffered great physical or emotional hardship and went beyond their own suffering to help others. As they reached out to others, they discovered that their healing was predicated on making a contribution to a better world.

* Heart Therapy - When life seems like a dark pit way too deep to pull out of, consider looking outside of yourself. When you volunteer to be of help to others in some way, that miracle of a changed consciousness does take over.