Community service is one of many loves in my life. But I lost touch with it for a while over the course of the pandemic. Recently, I’ve been exploring ways to bring it back into my life, and I’m ready to reconnect with people who love service too… but after being away for a while, it’s taking some courage to jump back in and remind myself why it matters so much to me.

Often, one of the exercises I use with coaching clients involves inviting them to imagine what they would do “if you knew it would turn out right,” this tends to allow people to momentarily disregard some of their doubts and worries to connect with something they want. This poem reflects what came of me doing that exercise with myself, sidestepping my doubts, and exploring what I really want for myself.

What would you do if you knew it would turn out right?

Where Empathy Grows

If I knew it would turn out right,

everyone would have a chance to see me

not on a page or a screen,

but face to face, in the community. 

I’d smile at a service dog sitting under a table

And his trainer would chuckle.

I’d hear a song sang by a beautiful boy

and be gifted a baseball card at an orphanage.

The air would smell fresh, 

behind bars and barbed wire fences.

My skin would feel alive

in lecture halls and advocacy meetings.

If I knew it would turn out right, I would show up.

I’d show up wherever empathy grows, and

water her, give her food, tell her not to be shy.

I’d tell her to breathe in as much sunlight as she needed.

Because the greatest service she can do

Is let herself expand.

To stretch her vines across the land 

and connect the dots between beings

so each of them will wake

in a bed of greenery.

Thanks for reading <3 And if you know of any interesting service opportunities in the Metro-Detroit area, send the details my way!

---

Did this post resonate with you? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send me a message to share your thoughts. For more uplifting content, check out some other posts on my blog, follow me on instagram @morgan_barbret, or sign up for the Self Love Atlas Newsletter!

Cheers, 

Morgan Rita Barbret