From everyday life: Serving, more than a word

Serving is a word so rich in interpretations that it can perfectly "fit" into a particular trade or profession, because anyone who performs a certain action according to others, what he/she does – plain and simple - is to serve.

More than a game of words, it is a reflection on a way of being, an attitude, a citizen attitude, which in a certain extent - especially in the last few times - I perceive it has moved away a bit from the wheel of life.

The clerk who serves customers in a restaurant; the bank teller; who works behind a counter (from any sector); the teacher, the doctor. They all provide a service and, therefore, in the fulfillment of their working day to serve others is implicit. That is, adults, children, the sick, and those who attend a recreational center to have a good time.

The Pan- Hispanic dictionary summarizes that serving means being useful; being at the service of someone; providing a customer with what he/she has asked for, and 'wishing to do something', among other meanings.

Luckily, there are still those who take this action in a proper, natural way and add it into their daily actions. There are also those who cross all barriers, the most advantageous, who are aware of the concerns and needs of others (whether material or not) and are always there, willing to relieve, help, cooperate.

However, we all coexist with those who look away and shrug their shoulders at the pain and urgencies of others, which can move in a spectrum from the simple to the difficult thing, from the feasible to the truly insoluble thing.

To serve - according to the criterion of a colleague - it is not possible to live with the weight of personal complexes, nor false considerations regarding what it means. To serve - and it is worth repeating the word - is not servitude, described as the "group of people working in the domestic service". Nor does it involve crouching at the word and the dominion of others, nor to keep a servant status. Nothing of the kind.

To serve is to love whom we have at our side; either neighbors, friends or simply acquaintances. It is to help at the right time, in the daily life. It is to be present when circumstances require it. Serving is synonymous (perhaps not literally) with support, understanding, relief.

And in these difficult times of hurricanes that have rampaged everything in their path, serving gains a greater dimension. Let’s put prejudices and vain prides aside. Let’s serve one another.

Let’s raise the banners of solidarity permanently. With such stances we will have nothing to lose, and instead, we will be better human beings every day.

"Who does not live to serve, does not serve to live", said Pope Francisco in the mass held at the Revolution Square in September 2015, during his visit to Cuba. The phrase made headlines all over the world very soon, because besides beautiful, it contained a great truth.

Translated by Jorge Mesa Benjamin / Cubasi TranslationStaff