“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy.”
Three lines. Three eras.
In childhood, life is joy. It’s discovery, play, the unselfconscious miracle of being alive. We don’t question meaning; we inhabit it. The world arrives as a gift.
Then adulthood wakes us up. Responsibility enters. Work. Family. Community. The realization that life isn’t just about our delight — it’s about our contribution. Service can feel like obligation at first. The dream gives way to duty…and the Sandwich Generation.
But elderhood offers the final alchemy. When we choose service — not as a burden but as an expression — something circles back. Joy returns, but this time it’s earned. It’s seasoned. It’s rooted in giving rather than grasping.
Tagore reminds us that the arc of a life bends toward integration: the joy of childhood, the service of adulthood, and the wise recognition that the two were never separate at all.
-Chip