The Rotary motto, Service Above Self, shined from the podium today.  Starting with Alicia Flatt and Marli Iverson leading us in the song, My Favorite Things.  And, no matter the age or background, everybody seemed to embrace the joy in the words.  Todd Summerfelt invoked a portion of the prayer Make Us Instruments of Your Peace.  Because of our donations, the Seattle Rotary Service Foundation (SRSF) announced its large grant recipient.  SRSF Trustee, Cynthia Chirot, presented a $40,000 check for Plymouth Housing Nurses’ Station to Executive Director, Paul Lambros, who said that onsite medical care is critical for the wraparound services Plymouth provides to residents.

 

Continuing in the theme of service, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best was introduced as our newest member by Seattle University’s business school dean, Joe Phillips.  A 28-year veteran of the SPD, Chief Best’s full introduction appears in the Totem.

Three of our members told us why they are donors to the Seattle Rotary Service Foundation.  They were all living examples of Service above Self.  Bailee Neyland told us that when she joined Seattle 4 Rotary, 10 months ago, she found people who exuded warmth and a commitment to community.  Our club became family to her.  “I give because I care and our donations help us achieve greatness for Rotary, our community and our world,” she said.

 

Paul Heppner, a member for nearly 19 years, said very simply, “I made a promise to give when I joined Rotary and I give early and what I can” to support our community.

 

Carl Behnke, a 41-year member,  reminded us of the significant organizations our club has funded, thanks to our gifts: KCTS, Medic One, Woodland Park Zoo, and Wellspring Family Services, to name only a few.  Carl surprised and thrilled club members when he announced he was raising his own gift of $2,500 to $10,000.  Then he went further. In order to increase the number of $1,000 donors who would then be Pinkham and Skeel donors, he said he would contribute $300 to the first 25 individuals who would increase their $400 gift to the Pinkham and Skeel level.  Those donors would pay an additional $300 which Carl will match.

 

Because it is the Chinese New Year, we all received the traditional lucky red envelop, which rather than money, had a sweet treat and a special pin, thanks to our member Alex Fan who is the Director General of the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Seattle. Members, James Wong and Taylor Shimizu, explained the celebration is taking place in multiple Asian countries as families share special foods and a lucky red envelope with cash.  James remembered that as a child it was the only time of the year when food was so abundant that he didn’t have to worry about saving food for others and he could eat his fill.  And the money he got in his lucky red envelope from relatives was his spending money for the year. It was a time when family and relatives came home.  In fact, the lunar new year is the largest migration in the world with more than 385 million travelers on the move to reunite with family.  Gung Hay Fat Choy!

 

George Harris, CEO of the Seattle Boat Show, which is the largest on the West Coast, invited us all to Century Link field to see the 800 boats on display.  Many are designed and manufactured in Washington.  There are an additional 124 boats moored at South Lake Union as part of the show.  With 243,000 registers boats in Washington, our state ranks 13th in the US. 

 

Our main speaker, Aadil Palkhivala, a renowned yoga master and teacher, opened his remarks with a Sanskrit chant which has been recited in yoga traditions for almost 6,000 years.  Translated his chant was “Oh divinity that manifests as a light, come fill our consciousness.”  He emphasized that the use of the word divinity, does not mean it is religious, it is simply a benevolent prayer and he reminded us that in every faith there is a tradition of candles, fire, and light. 

 

He went on to explain what yoga is not: it is not exercise or an escape, it is not commercial, it is not religious and has no connection to Buddhism, Hinduism or any other religion. 

 

What is yoga?  It is a system to develop self-awareness, he said.  And when you know yourself, you can live more fully in the world.  Yoga teaches you to look at both the beauty inside yourself and the “gunk” he said.  The object of a yoga practice is to transform the gunk into beauty.  Once you have control like this, you can apply it in life.  Yoga is a constant self-awareness system on three levels: in our thoughts, words, and actions.  We learn how to have our thoughts serve us.  Are our words truthful and kind, do our actions follow suit?

 

And then Rotary’s Service Above Self motto took center stage.  He said that the essence of yoga is discovering how we can serve our community.   He explained that yoga has three sacred areas that hold powerful forces.  The skull holds knowledge, the rib cage holds love, and the pelvis holds actions.  Traditional yoga moves our thinking and action to love.  And our efforts are to serve ourselves, our families, our community, and the world.  

 

Aadil led us in two simple breathing and movement exercises to connect each of us to our breath and focus our mind and heart.  As he said, offer your mind to the love that lives in you. 

 

Service Above Self shined today, with song, inspiration, testimonies and gifts from donors, a large gift presented to Plymouth Housing, and an introduction to yoga’s traditional practice that moves us to know ourselves so we can live more fully in the world.  Why?  To serve ourselves our families, our community, and our world.