Standards

It does not seem to me that assessing if someone is Service-to-Self or Service-to-Other would be limited to newcomers after a pole shift. The issue of such a black and white decision to accept or reject does not sound appealing to me. I am more attracted to the idea that certain standards are set, and people choose to leave or stay. Within these standards (which would change with time) there could be reinforcement to encourage Service-to-Other behavior. The issue comes up - how do you treat the rejected folks? Denying someone is not serving them. Denying some is not service to all others.

The idea here is that you have a community that is exclusive, and there is no community which is exclusive. There is always the earth, there are always the heavens, and there is always social interaction. Some people withdraw from social interaction out of preference. There may be some communities after a crises that simply are not safe - for interpersonal reasons. For me, the issue returns to an everyday life challenge of how to make our interactions safe and cooperative. How do we make our interactions oppositional and confrontational? How do we make our network or community viable. Perhaps the enemy is within. Perhaps it is a matter of healing, and there is no need to delay.

I don't think we need to be so concerned with the future and designing systems to exclude potentials (lives). There is healing to be done and the Service-to-Other in all of us can foster skills of benefit to communities. Notice that "value for the network" does not set up a duality of Service-to-Other and Service-to-Self. It is just an issue of how can we (you, I, etc.) benefit the whole, and if someone doesn't have a lot of potential to benefit others, how are resources developed that support the network. If people don't have enough sense or the capacity to support themselves, they perish - even if they survive a crises, and that is the fate we all share. Now, pray for guidance (insight) into the fitting practices for the situation arising.

Offered by Jeff.