Way back in 2005, someone posted blog comment saying that it is better to do something of more "lasting value" than something momentary and fleeting like acts of kindness.  That might seem like a difficult proposition with which to disagree.  And yet, I completely disagree with it – and without a moment’s hesitation.  The important thing about gifts of service is that real people are taking their time and applying their energy to improve a small piece of the world they found before them. It is as much about process as it is about achieving anything important in any single effort.  If one has faith in the process of service, one understands that acts of selflessness cannot help but inspire selflessness in others and that this symbiotic pattern of inspiration and action spreads ever-outward. The always quotable Mother Teresa summarized the spirit behind the gift of service, and the need to get beyond always looking for big-impact altruism, in her famous aphorism: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”  This, incidentally, is the spirit behind ServiceSpace, as expressed in our guiding principles. And it is the spirit I find in all my true service heroes.