usefulness
It feels good to be useful.
Do something. Make a change. Make a contribution. Help. Use your body. Spend time and effort on something worthwhile that will give you (or someone else) results and improvement. Finish a project.
A beneficial gift of your abilities is the power to focus them in generous ways.
How can you make a difference, for yourself or for someone else?
My husband and I did a big closet cleanout last weekend, donating, purging, trashing, cleaning, and organizing everything, and it feels good! Totally mundane, just a household spring cleaning chore, just a boring adult task… yet impactful. Having something like this finished eases the load, makes you feel excited and a little lighter. And we had fun together!
During the project, I also spent a couple hours assembling an IKEA dresser mostly by myself. Practical and useful, very measurable and visible. There’s a lot of change and beneficial results to see from our work. It’s rewarding.
Everybody can do something. Each of us has unique abilities, gifts, and perspectives within us, and we can use them for good and to shine a light. We have our hands and our muscle and our minds and our time, and we can use our presence and our willingness to make something happen.
Jump in. Do something. Don’t shy away from the work; lean into it, work hard, feel useful, get tired, see the reward and the satisfaction.
P.S. While assembling my new dresser, I kept joking to Jake I was officially a carpenter. 😂🙄🤦♀️ Above is a photo from a few years ago, of Jake actually using some carpentry skills for a real wood-working project — not just following an IKEA build book. 😉
P.P.S. Some people are exceptionally good at being useful and being of service, showing us generous, willing skills and practices to strive for. Jake is handy and hard working, thorough and attentive to detail. We’re lucky to have such people in our lives. ❤
