The art of selfless giving

“Seva” is the Sanskrit word that describes the act of selfless service and lies at the heart of karma yoga; doing something for others with no expectations or awards for performing it.

This notion of unconditional giving is talked a lot about in the yoga world, but is exemplified with passion within the veteran and military community.

The Veteran community had helped to selflessly provide my Uncle Larry with the care and support he and our family needed in his last days in hospice.

And it was the same community who selflessly ensured his funeral and burial were dignified.

Larry was a simple, outdoorsy, off-grid guy, of little means… so when we learned the costs of a funeral home and casket, we worried how we'd be able to honorably lay him to rest.

After a brief moment of panic, we learned that Veteran’s Shelter would offer to host a gathering in his honor and that a local Marine and other volunteers would craft a pine box out of donated lumber for him.

So on Friday, September 13th, 2019, family and friends of Larry’s met at the Bridge House to reminisce and tell our favorite tales of Larry, before heading south to the Boscowen Veterans Cemetery.

There many of us got the chance to see this pine casket for the first time.

Simple. Rustic. Humble. Just like Larry. It was perfect.

After the service, we laid sunflowers on this handmade coffin - a labor of unconditional love - and said our final goodbyes.

The day was sad, don’t get me wrong, but at his burial I remember feeling a strong sense of peace.

Maybe it was the gratitude I had for those who took care of my uncle his last days; maybe it was seeing how perfect that humble pine box was for him; it could have been the good omens of the day - the two bald eagles that flew overhead, the butterflies landing on his sunflowers; all if it together reminding me of the beauty of what it means to help take care of one another.

That’s why the ancients talked so much of giving selflessly, with no expectations; because when we, as a community, can learn to give with unconditional love, with no attachment to the outcome, we can find more of a sense of peace for ourselves.

Here is to making the world a better place - one selfless act at a time.