Drawing In, Reaching Out

At work, we talk quite a bit about community benefits, an important aspect of Catholic health care.  It's all about reaching out for the common good, to make our corner of the world a healthier place in which to live, especially those who may be vulnerable or poor.  That message speaks deeply to my core and I carry the community benefit mandate seriously.  A recent prayer at my Methodist Church reflected on reaching out.  Rather than being insular, we prayed to know our neighbors.  Rather than focusing on our own problems, we prayed for the ability to open our eyes to those around us who may be suffering, grieving or lonely.  We prayed to fill our lives with people instead of tasks.  We prayed to seek justice rather than to argue issues.  All of this reaching out must be done in balance with reaching within.  And a fine, teetering balance it can be.  Without that balance, as individuals, we have no Sabbath, no quiet time for recharging our batteries.  When my life is not filled with self- or other-induced busyness, it opens up to so much goodness.  Consequently, I get to know myself and my neighbors.  I get the opportunity to take care of me and to be there for others.  It becomes natural to put people before my to-do list. Yet, being human in my gerbil-wheel life, I can easily lose sight of what buoys an otherwise flattened spirit and makes life meaningful.  So, my prayer is for the right balance of drawing in and reaching out so that I can be of the greatest service to others.