"Fixing, Helping or Serving?" by: Rachel Naomi Remen
I read this article last semester, but I ran across it again this semester as I was looking for something that would be applicable to my research project in India.
This article is about the differences between fixing, helping and serving. The author explains that when we are focused on serving somebody, we are so absorbed in how we can rebuild something that has been "broken". How all of the sudden, we see somebody as broken, unstable and not whole. Then, she went on to say that when we help somebody, we all of the sudden become aware of our own strength and we want to reach down to somebody, because we have the means and or tools to help them. By contrast, the author explained, serving is totally different because there is no sense of pride. Serving does not require us to reach down, but to reach straight forward. It makes us aware of our wholeness and ability to use our life experiences to bless the lives of others. Even the bad things that have happened in our lives are useful when we serve somebody because we are able to look back on our story, and serve somebody else, who may glean from our experiences.
I love this article because it really puts into perspective what I am supposed to do in India. Sure, I am trying to gain academic knowledge while my project develops, but one of the main reasons, if not the main reason why I want to go, is because I want to live with the people and genuinely love them. I want to make sure that I don't impose my cultural values on them, that I don't go in trying to figure out women's perceptions, to try to make women be better represented; I am not trying to "fix" their system. I am there to serve them and to learn the most I can from them.
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