Book Cover: The Tao of Public Service by Eric Z. Lucas
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your
country can do for you- -ask what you can do for your country.-- President John F. Kennedy, 1961
A new time and opportunity are on the
horizon. It is a time when those who
have the best interests of humanity at heart can forge a new form of life that
can lead to a time, as one wise individual put it, when " the present state of fear, and of
intense competitive struggle for existence, will be superceded by a real
measure of stability and security."
In
order to usher in such a time, we must all begin to walk our own path, do our
life purpose, and fulfill our own mission to the best of our ability. However, it all begins with service. Service opens up the possibility of purpose.
Without service to others, one's true purpose cannot be found.
Public Service
Today
many refer to one's life purpose or destiny as "the Path." In certain philosophies of the East "the
Path" is also known as "the Way." "The
Tao" means, "the Way." So this is what
we mean when we use the phrase, "The Tao of Public Service."
When
we use the term "Public Service" we are not using it in the old familiar
way. In other words when we say
"public" we are not referring to government service, elected office, or even
volunteer "community service." And we are not relegating regular work to the
realm of the "private." When we use the
term "Public Service" what we mean is work done in the world for the sake of
others and by this we mean "any work."
What
this means, in practical terms, is that any task can be done in one way or the
other. Any job, any work, any task can be done solely for one's own benefit or
for the sake of others: whether it is President of the United States or garbage
collector. In addition, when we refer
to a path of public service it should be clear that we are not talking about
one path but many paths. We are talking
about the path or work that each person may engage in when they live their
everyday life.
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