I believe that there is a reason the human race feels joy when it serves another person, that sort of joy that you can't get from receiving a new toy for Christmas, or getting chosen for the lead in your school musical. This joy surpasses those and penetrates down to your inner being. It is not petty nor arrogant, not tangible nor destructible. This is true joy and those that have found it are lucky enough to find the meaning of life. To give ones life or time for another not only shows the basic need to love but also the undeniable human condition and the connection of all people into one beating heart. The desire and will to make everyone around you as happy as you can possibly make them is a life long commitment, one that I have tried to embrace wholeheartedly. What I have found is that when you serve the people around you they no longer are black or white, poor or rich, but for one moment we are all just people, people who all have wishes and dreams, wants and needs, people who just want to be loved and to love. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this love last time I was down town. I was with a group of people and we decided to serve lunch to the homeless that day. As i watched the director of the soup kitchen greet familiar faces amongst the ragged crowd, and see people that were getting served a hot meal go on for hours about something as simple as a loaf of bread. I realized that something was filling the room, something so contagious it spread like wildfire to not only the beneficiaries but to the volunteers as well. Joy was taking control of the room; those that were waiting in the cold to come into the shelter felt not only a physical warmth when they entered, but a spiritual heat as well. This transformational power of service was best depicted in two young girls that I entered the shelter with that morning. At first they complained that they had better things to do on a Saturday, and were disgusted by the homeless and the fact that their Saturday was "wasted." I discounted them as hopeless and left for a while to go help. A couple hours later I saw a young girl sprint by me in an effort to lead an elderly couple to their seat. I shrugged it off until i realized that that was one of the two girls from earlier that morning. I walked over and listened in as she explained how she had made the placemat for the couple and would soon be returning with food for them, and then sat in amazement as she returned and just talked with them for hours about the most trivial things. When it was time to pack up and go home i looked and in the corner i saw the young girl, who was now accompanied by her friend sadly wave the couple out the door and see them off. These new and improved girls showed no trace of the snobbish selfish character that pervaded them earlier that morning, they were both so pumped they decided they wanted to do this every weekend and they went on and on about how much fun they had, revealing everything about the couple, from the elderly women's favorite baby name to the older mans favorite sports team. As i sat listening to them i wondered who had been blessed more? The couple had gotten a warm meal, and someone to chat with, but the young ones seemed to have a new perspective on life and a vibrant energy that wouldn't disappear even after hours of "work." Now the joys of serving cant be expressed through words or paper, its one thing that each person has to find themselves, something that stumbles upon them when they least expect it, an internal quest to join the millions of beating hearts all trying to make the world a better place, one service at a time. I believe in the power of the servant.