Hearing your inner voice and taming your ego are important steps in finding your peace.

But so is putting to work the inspirations that come from inside.

Yet service isn't some panacea, an end in itself. It is simply another set of experiences by which we explore our relationship to each other and contrbute to life outside ourselves.

As anyone knows who has ever tried to help another, service does not always come easy.

At its highest application, service is performed without regard for personal gain, even to meet our most basic needs for survival.

Yet, as human beings our needs must be met. When the call to serve redirects limited time, attention, and resources away from meeting those needs (or desires), then service comes not with joy, but with conflict.

Most never recognize they are in such conflict, much less understand how to resolve it. As a result, their lives are filled with struggle and suffering, leaving them less than happy, fulfilled, or at peace.

When difficulties arise in service, it's time to open your eyes. What you find will tell you much about why you are here, and what you are all about.