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Reflection on Service & Joy from 2025/26 President Dick Myers

By Richard Myers
Posted: 08/03/2026

At our Annual Meeting, outgoing Board President Dick Myers reflected on the themes of service and joy—two ideas that have been central to Pasadena Village throughout its history. His remarks drew in part from a longer essay exploring how service and joy are connected and why they are widely recognized as essential elements of a meaningful and fulfilling life. His speech at the meeting was an excerpt from the broader reflection below. 

 

Good Evening, everyone.

Welcome to our Annual Meeting, and thank you for being here.

Our theme today is Service and Joy.

At first glance, these may seem like two simple ideas. But the more I have reflected on them, the more I have come to believe that they lie at the very heart of what Pasadena Village is all about.

Throughout history, religious leaders, philosophers, and thinkers have wrestled with a fundamental question: What is a good life? What does it mean to live well? While their answers have varied, there has been remarkable agreement on two important elements. A good life is not measured simply by what we accumulate or achieve for ourselves. It is measured by how we relate to others, how we contribute to the world around us, and whether we find meaning and purpose in our lives. Service and joy have long been recognized as essential ingredients of a life well lived.

One thing that struck me is that service is a central value in the major religious traditions represented in our country. Christianity, the faith of most Americans, teaches service through love of neighbor. In Judaism, there is the beautiful concept of Tikkun Olam—the call to help repair the world. In Islam, there is the tradition of khidmat, a commitment to serving others, caring for the community, and expressing faith through acts of generosity and compassion. In Hinduism, service is expressed through seva, the selfless offering of one's time, talents, and energy for the benefit of others without seeking personal reward. And in Buddhism, compassion is placed at the center of spiritual life. Service to others is seen as a path toward reducing suffering and cultivating wisdom, kindness, and interconnectedness. Within Pasadena Village, all five of these religious perspectives are represented in the membership. 

While these traditions differ in many ways, they share a remarkable insight: a meaningful life is not centered only on ourselves. It is enriched when we reach outward in service to others.

But service is only half of our theme.

The other half is joy.

Joy is different from happiness. Happiness often depends on circumstances. It comes and goes. Joy runs deeper. Joy is a sense of meaning, connection, and purpose that can endure even through life's challenges.

Across many religious traditions and philosophical perspectives, joy is understood as something more profound than a pleasant emotion. It comes from being connected to something larger than ourselves. It comes from living with what we might call a transcendent purpose.

And that brings us to Pasadena Village.

We often think of service in terms of what we do for one another: providing a ride, making a phone call, checking in on a friend, serving on a committee, organizing an event, offering support during a difficult time. These acts matter enormously. They are the foundation of our community.

But if we stop there, we miss something important.

The deepest joy comes when we move beyond ourselves.

When we serve one another within Pasadena Village, we strengthen our community. We create friendships, trust, and belonging. But when our spirit of service reaches beyond our membership—when we share our experience, our wisdom, our compassion, and our energy with the broader Pasadena community—we become part of something even greater.

We help repair a small piece of the world around us.

And something remarkable happens.

The larger community benefits from our service, but Pasadena Village benefits as well. We gain a stronger sense of purpose. We discover new connections. We demonstrate that aging is not a withdrawal from community life but a deeper engagement with it.

In serving others, we are transformed ourselves.

That is one of life's great paradoxes: the more we give away, the more we receive. The more we help others find connection, purpose, and joy, the more those same qualities grow within us.

This, I believe, is the essence of joy.

Joy is not found by asking only what life can give to us. Joy is found by asking what we can give to life. It is found in knowing that our lives matter, that we belong to something larger than ourselves, and that we are helping to create a stronger, more caring community.

As we look to the future, my hope is that Pasadena Village will continue to be known not only as a community that cares for its members, but as a community whose members care for the world around them.

If we do that, we will accomplish more than providing services. We will create purpose. We will create connection. We will create joy.

And in doing so, we will fulfill one of the deepest human callings: to serve something greater than ourselves.

Because when service extends beyond ourselves, purpose grows. And when purpose grows, joy follows.

As I reflect on the many ways religious traditions, philosophers, and thoughtful people have defined service and joy, I find those same qualities here in Pasadena Village. I see them in the rides that are given, the friendships that are formed, the committees that serve, the volunteers who step forward, and the countless acts of kindness that occur every day.

And perhaps that tells us something important.

Pasadena Village is more than an organization. It is more than a collection of programs, activities, and services. It is a community where people find connection, purpose, belonging, service, and joy.

If service and joy are among the essential ingredients of a good life—as generations of religious leaders, philosophers, and thinkers have suggested—then perhaps we can say that Pasadena Village is a “gateway to a good life.”

It is a place where people can continue to contribute, continue to grow, continue to belong, and continue to discover meaning and purpose in the later chapters of life.

That is a remarkable gift. And it is something worth preserving, strengthening, and passing on to those who come after us.

Thank you for being part of Pasadena Village. Thank you for all that you do for one another and for the wider community. And thank you for helping make Pasadena Village a place where service and joy come together every day—and a gateway to a good life.

Thank you.