Two of Cups
Much of life revolves around being in service. Simply divided: service-to-self and service-to-others. Leaning too heavily into service-to-self can develop a selfish behavior that takes advantage of others for self-gain with a lack of compassion. However, leaning too heavily into service-to-others places others above yourself to the point of exhaustion and potentially training others to take advantage of your generosity. Both extremes are maladaptive, as service-to-self doesn’t take time for others and service-to-others takes time from yourself. Both forms of service are important to practice and balancing between them is a delicate act. In seeking growth, it is best to invest in service-to-self first until your cup is full of energy, love, joy, and patience. Then be at service-to-others by sharing your abundance with others. When your cup gets low, revert back to service-to-self and allow others to serve you with their abundance. Life situations happen and you will be temporarily forced to focus on one side of the spectrum. However, be careful not to get stuck out of balance. Overall, achieving a balance in this spectrum of service will help create a harmonious life. Leaning into service-to-others is essential, just be mindful not to neglect yourself.
So how are you managing the volume in your cups?