I've noticed that in life people tend to search for one of two things at various points in their life. Significance - however they define it... or a peace of mind - Serenity. Of those I have observed who have sought significance I have witnessed only a few obtain it. Many sought significance, as they defined it, but in the end found a hollow shell and continued seeking elsewhere. Of those who obtained it, and the peace that accompanies it, they all found significance in service.

A dear friend of mine was once asked how he was going to change the world. "One person at a time," he would say, "it all starts inside."

The end goal of the development of self is the development of others for no sooner do we begin to walk down that path than we realize that it is a constant process that will never end. Upon realizing this the immense joy we felt initially can begin to fade as routineness sets in. It is still there within us, but dulled in a sense from repetition (perhaps I am wrong in this regard). A new joy can replace or add to it - greater than the first... The joy of watching the eyes of another light up as something sparks within them and they change the course of their future. The joy of helping someone because it was deepest sense of what was right. The joy of serving another who cannot repay you, someone who can only pass it on. Anyone who has experienced a life changing moment and who has helped another to experience the same relives their own. It is that feeling, that experience, that moment that touches us so deeply that we can never forget it.

That is where Significance is born. It is born in the service of others.

Significance comes from service to others. It comes from selflessness. Ghandi and Mother Teresa were extremely significant in the lives of many people all over the world. Very probably, there are very few individuals who do not know something of them. They achieved significance by offering the individuals they came to meet around the world what they had to provide - their hearts.

The world, or society in general - especially American society, paints a picture of what they call Significance or "Success" - money, cars, homes, possessions, etc... Significance has nothing to do with possessions and many discover the emptiness of that false shell when they have sought comfort purely therein. Significance is the realization of a heart yearning outward. A heart yearning to be with other human beings.