To serve and be served


Not all jobs are the same. There's working, and then there's working and serving.
Careful, though: when I say "serving," I don't mean "serving customers" in the general sense. I mean briefly and willingly acting as their servant, doing things for them that they could otherwise do themselves: bringing the coffee, wiping the table, polishing shoes, washing hair, trimming nails, delivering a pizza.

It's not something to take for granted. It's an enormous kindness from the person serving you, something that goes well beyond the ordinary duties of any other job with an equivalent wage. It takes human qualities and dedication to do it well, with kindness and dignity.

I forget this sometimes, but I've committed to keeping it in mind. When the gesture is carried out with grace and the person receiving it becomes aware of it — briefly interrupting their stream of thoughts, the conversation with friends, or the message they were typing — a specific exchange of signals takes place, and both sides pick up on it. The intensity of the interaction deepens, and even the coffee tastes richer.

If you've never tried it, do it. You won't regret it.

Drafted from Italian with Blog Translator, then revised by me.

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