DEVOTION

I love observing people
when they do something with true devotion.
Especially when it is not something grand -
but something very small and seemingly insignificant.
People who give their full attention to one single activity.
Who completely dissolve into the moment.
Who lose all sense of time because they are fully immersed in what they are doing with love.

I still often think about the small diving resort in the Philippines
where I once worked.
And about a young Filipino waitress named Denia.
She did everything with devotion.

Early every afternoon, she would sit down with the cook
to discuss the dinner menu.
After that, her special ritual began: the chalkboard.
With colorful chalks, she wrote the menu on the small board every single day.
She added little decorations, ornaments, flowers, curved lines.
She took her time and drew with incredible calmness and attention to detail,
as if a great painter were working on a masterpiece.
I loved watching her.
And the guests loved it too.
Every day, Denia received enthusiastic compliments for it.

Later, she would present the dinner menu to the guests.
And although she was actually very shy,
in those moments she almost transformed into an actress on stage.
Every evening the same small gesture with her hands.
Every evening the same sentence:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, dinner is ready.”
With her charming accent.
With a warm smile.
With dignity and presence.
Every evening people laughed, applauded, and smiled.

I never had the feeling she was thinking:
“I’m just a waitress.”
or
“I’m not special enough.”

Quite the opposite.

What she did mattered deeply to her.
And that was exactly why it mattered to everyone else as well.

Devotion in Everyday Life

Many people believe devotion only appears in special moments.
In extraordinary achievements.
In great success.
In exceptional talents.

But often, it is enough
to simply become more aware of small moments in everyday life.
The warm water in the shower.
The first coffee in the morning.
The breath before a stressful conversation.
The sound of your own footsteps…

Devotion arises when we are truly present for a moment.
With the one thing that matters right now.
Without multitasking.
Without already mentally moving on to the next thing.

Personally, I feel true devotion most strongly
when I completely lose my sense of time.
Only then am I truly free from thoughts
that have nothing to do with the present moment.

This often happened to me in my work in the past,
when I designed special journeys for clients.
I almost experienced those trips internally myself.
Often, I became so immersed in the planning
that I barely noticed my surroundings anymore.
I simply wanted to continue without interruption.

During lockdown, I often felt devotion while gardening.
Many hours passed like one single brief moment.

Childhood as a Guide

To discover which activities can truly fulfill us with devotion,
it often helps to look back at childhood.
What made us lose our sense of time and space as children?
When were we completely present as children?

For example, I remember the Good Fridays
when we traditionally painted Easter eggs together as a family.
My favorite technique involved hydrochloric acid from my grandmother’s pharmacy.
A toothpick was carefully dipped into it,
and with it we could etch patterns into the pre-colored eggs.

In my memory, very little was spoken during those evenings.
Above all, we painted with devotion.
For hours.

We were quiet and concentrated -
yet connected with each other in a beautiful way.

I often wished those evenings would never end.
Together, we created a wonderful basket full of beautifully different Easter eggs.

When HOW becomes more important than WHAT

Whenever we interact with people,
we immediately feel the difference:

The doctor who truly listens.
The teacher who encourages a child.
The bus driver who greets people kindly in the morning.
The baker who does not simply do her job,
but puts something of herself into it.
The waiter who serves a meal with natural dignity and attention.

In their actions, we feel something essential:
That HOW something is done
is often more important than WHAT is being done.

And I am certain of this:
If we all brought more devotion back into what we do,
it would improve the quality of life for many people.

The Effect on Other People

Devotion does not only change ourselves.
It also changes the atmosphere around us.

Some people enter a room
and immediately bring restlessness with them.

Others bring calm.
Not because their lives are perfect.
But because they are present.
Because they listen.
Because they are not constantly somewhere else in their minds.

Perhaps that is exactly what has become rare today:
People who are truly here.

Devotion lives on

Denia left a lasting impression on me.
Many years later, when my husband and I worked as tour operators in Vienna,
there were no typical vacation photos of beaches or palm trees displayed in our office window.
Instead, there was a chalkboard.

Every day we wrote new quotes on it
and decorated it lovingly with small drawings and details.

One of our long-time regular customers later told me
that he had originally entered our office only because of that charming chalkboard.

And perhaps that shows something very beautiful:
Devotion rarely goes unnoticed.
It touches people.

And sometimes, one person quietly plants something
that reappears many years later
in a completely different place.

LUMA – it begins in you.

Mini Exercise
Close your eyes for a moment
and think back to your childhood.
Was there something you did simply for the joy of it?
Something that came naturally from within you.
Something you loved -
just for yourself.
Something during which you completely lost track of time.
Maybe painting, building, dancing, cycling, daydreaming…
Could you perhaps bring a small part of that
back into your life today?

Reflection Question
In which situations are you physically present -
but inwardly somewhere completely different?