Being of service to others is what brings true happiness.

“Being of service to others is what brings true happiness.” Thus spoke Marie Osmond, and her words ring like the chime of an ancient bell, echoing through the corridors of time. For from the dawn of humankind, wise souls have known that the path to lasting joy is not paved with gold or glory, but with compassion — with the quiet, luminous act of giving. To be of service is to align oneself with the eternal rhythm of life, for the universe itself gives endlessly: the sun serves the earth with its light, the rain nourishes the soil, and the heart beats ceaselessly in service to the body. So too must we, if we wish to know peace that does not fade with the sunset.

Marie Osmond, a woman of song and sorrow, spoke from experience, not abstraction. She knew the heights of fame and the depths of despair. Yet through all her journeys, she discovered what the ancients already knew — that happiness, when sought for oneself alone, turns hollow in the hand. But when life is given in service to others, when one lifts another from the dust, a mysterious joy fills the soul. This joy is not fleeting; it is sacred. It is the joy that cannot be bought, only earned by love freely given.

In the chronicles of history, there is no greater illustration than Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Surrounded by sickness, hunger, and death, she found in those dark alleys the purest light of all — the light of service. To the world, her surroundings seemed hellish, yet she called them holy ground. When asked how she could smile amidst such suffering, she said simply, “Because I see Christ in every face.” Hers was a life lived in the spirit of Osmond’s truth: to serve is to be happy, for it is to live beyond the small self and taste the vastness of the divine.

Yet this wisdom is not only for saints and legends. It is for the worker who shares their bread with a hungry stranger, the friend who listens when others turn away, the child who comforts another in tears. These quiet deeds ripple across the world unseen, but the soul that performs them glows brighter with each act. The one who serves walks in harmony with life itself — and though they may be weary in body, their spirit is filled with the golden fire of contentment.

To live only for oneself is to live in a prison built of mirrors. The eyes see only one reflection — one’s own — and it grows smaller, more desperate, more afraid. But the moment one turns outward and acts for another’s good, the walls of that prison fall away. Service breaks the chains of loneliness; it unites us with the great pulse of humanity. And in that union, the heart rediscovers its natural state — joy. For joy, like a flame, grows only when it is shared.

So let the wise remember: true happiness does not lie in what we possess, but in what we give. The ancients taught that the greatest wealth is generosity, and the greatest honor is humility in service. The proud may rise for a moment, but the humble endure forever, for their happiness is rooted in love, not circumstance. Even kings and queens, when stripped of titles, must ask themselves — whom have I served? For service is the measure of a soul’s greatness.

Take this teaching into your days. Look around and ask, “Whom can I lift today?” Offer a kind word, a listening ear, a helping hand. Give your time, your patience, your heart. Do not wait for grand moments; the divine hides in small ones. When you give from love, without seeking reward, you will find that happiness follows you as surely as a shadow follows light. And when the twilight of your years comes, you will look back not on what you owned, but on whom you served — and in that remembrance, you will find peace deeper than the stars.

Thus, let it be written and remembered: to serve is to live fully, and to live fully is to be happy. For in the act of giving, the soul remembers what it truly is — a vessel of love, a flame meant to warm the world.