I know I don’t have to tell you, but we’re living through some rough times. People are fighting all over the place, there’s a deadly virus wreaking havoc, and the world is either on fire or it’s under water. Every time you turn on the news, there's a new series of human rights violations or another catastrophe.

If you're like me, all this suffering might have you in a bit of a funk. (This can be true whether you are on the frontlines or if you're watching things unfold from a distance.) The pandemic alone has been an extended exercise in collective grief and a marathon in resiliency. Our recovery plans and wellness routines are being tested like never before.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it

Don't worry, this whole post isn't going to be about doom, but I have to put our discussion of hopeful things in the context of these times.

Now is not the time to slap a bunch of positive spiritual platitudes over an issue and call it a day. Ignoring suffering won't make it go away. Looking horror in the face and saying, “It’s the Universe,” or “It’s all love and light,’ or my least favorite, “We’re all the same,” is spiritual bypassing, and it has no place here. I’m not going to spew some toxic positivity at my fellow yogis by telling you it’s “good vibes only” around here. I respect you too much.

So we're going to talk about hope, but we have to face the steaming pile of you-know-what to do it. The laundry list of troubles is enough to make even the optimists among us cynical.

Luckily, I promised you an antidote for cynicism: seva.

So what exactly is seva?

Seva (Sanskrit for "selfless service"), is a foundational concept in yoga. When you embody seva, you offer up your skills, talents, or resources for the benefit of others without attachment to the outcome.

Seva sounds straightforward until you consider how many times giving something comes with an expectation. In the yoga industry, for example, cleaning a studio in exchange for free yoga classes is neither seva, nor is it karma. Some places use those terms to describe that activity, but it’s really trade.

Many good deeds have embedded attachments and expectations. When a person donates a small fortune to a college so they’ll get their name on a building it isn't seva. (Of course, sometimes buildings are named after individuals to honor them for their for service and not as a condition for a donation. Sometimes money is given with no expectation for recognition. That's different.) A good deed videoed and shared for likes is too attached to ego to be selfless. Doing a favor for someone because you owe them or so they’ll owe you may help a friend, but it's a transaction.

I'm definitely not trying to minimize people doing kind things, making named donations, or trading skills. These are valid modes of interaction that can serve to move the world and often do make it better. They just aren't seva.

There are helpers everywhere

True examples of seva are sometimes not as obvious as the sweeping gestures I mentioned above. Rex pointed out to me that some of the best representations of seva are those acts of service that arise naturally. The service is second nature.

You can find seva in the moments when a nurse comforts the sick and dying. It's in the heart of a teacher that buys extra groceries so that food-insecure students have something to eat over the long weekend. You'll see it in the person who stops to help someone with a mobility issue get up the steps. It's in the flight attendant that comforts a travel-weary parent's crying baby. It's in a service member draping their jacket over a sleeping child as she's airlifted away from the certainty of oppression and into the uncertainty of life as a refugee.

I can't tell you how many times I witnessed seva in the Union Yoga community. Selfless service is woven into the fabric of the studio. When you practice, it literally makes the Union Yoga Fund possible. When the lockdowns began, there were offers to run errands. People gave lifts to those in need. Compassionate ears heard fellow practitioners and then gave them space to process. Yes, holding space and listening are ways we serve, too.

How many expressions of care does one need to see to have their faith in humanity restored? When we walk each other home in these ways, it gives me the energy to keep moving forward. I hope it does the same for you.

Once you've trained your eyes to see it, seva is everywhere.

Balm for a cracked heart

I was watching a documentary on NHK World Japan about hikikomori. Hikikomori are people who withdraw from the rest of the world. In the US, we call them recluses or hermits.

When interviewed during their recovery or through journals found after they died, the hikikomori often expressed frustration with society, disenchantment with their jobs, or a general feeling that there was no point in engaging with others. In other words, they articulated a lot of the same things we might be feeling when we watch the news or face adversity. They've just responded to it in a different (and often detrimental-to-their-health) way.

One way that social workers rehabilitate the hikikomori, is by giving them the opportunity to do some low-pressure volunteer work. These humble tasks give the people a chance to enact positive change. The service becomes an avenue for healing. The seva is a beacon in the dark.

Find the good

We cannot deny that there are things that need to change to make the world a better place. At the same time, if we crumble under the weight of despair, we will not be able to alleviate the suffering for ourselves and others. Some parts of our yoga build our capacity to see things as they are, and other parts of the practice help us learn to operate within that reality. Seva does both.

I encourage you to think of a moment when you’ve witnessed seva. Maybe someone did a kindness for you with no expectation of anything in return. Maybe you saw someone take meaningful action for others. What did you see? How did it make you feel?

Now recall a time when you’ve shown up for others. Remember, the action doesn't have to be a grand gesture. You may find it much more challenging to see your own seva than to name selfless service done by others. Maybe upon reflection, you realize you'd like to find more ways to express that aspect of the yoga practice. See what the concept of selfless service brings up for you when you lend it a bit of your awareness.

We can hold our knowledge of the challenges the world faces in one hand, and we can keep our hope in the other. When all seems lost remember that there are people quietly putting goodness back into the world. When you are tired from the harsh realities of this time, lean on their stories and examples. When you are energized, be the helper that inspires someone else. Don't give up, my friends. The world needs you.