--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Helping, fixing, and serving represent…" description: "\"Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. when you fix, you see life as broken. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_broken_helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-thr_2486097.png" --- # Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different… ![“Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. when you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul.” quote by Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_broken_helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-thr_2486097.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_broken_helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-thr_2486097.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_broken_helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-thr_2486097.png) > “Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. when you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul.” [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Helping sees weakness, fixing sees brokenness, serving sees wholeness; service aligns with the soul. **In simple terms:** Service perceives life as whole. Key Takeaway Choose service over ego‑driven help. Themes spirituality service ego Mood compassionate inspirational Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - volunteering - healthcare work - team leadership - personal caregiving Key Concepts philosophy psychology humanism Questions to Reflect On - When does helping become controlling? - How can you shift from fixing to serving? A Different Perspective Service may be idealized over practical limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Fixing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixing/) [Fixing Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixing-helping-915715/) [Help Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-life/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Fixing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-fixing-915714/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Serve Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serve-life-915713/) [Serving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serving/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) ## Related quotes > [Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/congressman-john-lewis-should-spend-more-time-on-fixing-and-helping/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“You're not damaged. But even if you were, I'd spend the rest of my life fixing you. My life isn't mine either,Caitlin. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-h-kolee/you-re-not-damaged-but-even-if-you-were-i-d-spend-the-rest-of-my-life/) [S.H. Kolee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-h-kolee/) > [Those who bless and serve life find a place of belonging and strength, a refuge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/those-who-bless-and-serve-life-find-a-place-of-belonging-and-strength/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [“I began to understand how quickly I moved into fixing, helping and saving; often to soothe my own discomfort with someone else's pain...People are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-l-cosby/i-began-to-understand-how-quickly-i-moved-into-fixing-helping-and/) [N.L. Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-l-cosby/) > [Remember that mentor leadership is all about serving. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-dungy/remember-that-mentor-leadership-is-all-about-serving-jesus-said-for/) [Tony Dungy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-dungy/) > [“To meet and know God people must therefore begin with a deep commitment to serve life as they meet it because this is where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-wirzba/to-meet-and-know-god-people-must-therefore-begin-with-a-deep/) [Norman Wirzba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-wirzba/) > [We serve life, not because it is broken, but because it is holy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-serve-life-not-because-it-is-broken-but-because-it-is-holy/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Before you are five and twenty you must establish a character that will serve you all your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cuthbert-collingwood-1st-baron-collingwood/before-you-are-five-and-twenty-you-must-establish-a-character-that/) [Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cuthbert-collingwood-1st-baron-collingwood/) > [ “service \[rendered\] to God does indeed profit God nothing, nor has God need of human obedience; but He grants to those who follow and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/service-rendered-to-god-does-indeed-profit-god-nothing-nor-has-god-2/) [The Church Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-fathers/) > [Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/jesus-specialized-in-menial-tasks-that-everyone-else-tried-to-avoid/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“this was the way life should be. Family working, sharing, and living together with a sense of belonging and purpose, to be needed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-foster/this-was-the-way-life-should-be-family-working-sharing-and-living/) [Mike Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-foster/) > [Living each day is just another blessing you have know idea when the world will end or when one of your loved ones are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow-timmi/living-each-day-is-just-another-blessing-you-have-know-idea-when-the/) [Unknow Timmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow-timmi/) > [“A story might help you get through your life, he said, but it doesn't literally keep you alive -- if anything, most often people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hannaham/a-story-might-help-you-get-through-your-life-he-said-but-it-doesn-t/) [James Hannaham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hannaham/) > [Choose to look at illness and death in positive ways rather than negatively will help to give your life here on the planet deeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phylameana-lila-desy/choose-to-look-at-illness-and-death-in-positive-ways-rather-than/) [Phylameana Lila Desy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phylameana-lila-desy/) > [When I was growing up, my mother, who had been through a lot of terrible things in life, taught me that when life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seymour/when-i-was-growing-up-my-mother-who-had-been-through-a-lot-of/) [Jane Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seymour/) ## More by Rachel Naomi Remen > [Chances are that any helpful two-year-old will break some eggs. We are often not very good at things when we are new. But there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/chances-are-that-any-helpful-two-year-old-will-break-some-eggs-we-are/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Big messages come in small packages. All it may take to restore someone's trust in life may be returning a lost earring or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/big-messages-come-in-small-packages-all-it-may-take-to-restore/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/the-most-basic-and-powerful-way-to-connect-to-another-person-is-to/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/the-most-basic-and-powerful-way-to-connect-to-another-person-is-to-2/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Many people do not know that they can strengthen or diminish the life around them. The way we live day to day simply may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/many-people-do-not-know-that-they-can-strengthen-or-diminish-the-life/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. 'Right,' 'wrong,' 'success,' 'failure,' . . . Labeling sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/a-label-is-a-mask-life-wears-we-put-labels-on-life-all-the-time-right/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/healing-may-not-be-so-much-about-getting-better-as-about-letting-go/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [It is said that the Christian mystic Theresa of Avila found difficulty at first in reconciling the vastness of the life of the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/it-is-said-that-the-christian-mystic-theresa-of-avila-found/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Just Listen an excerpt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/just-listen-an-excerpt/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Goose bumps happen when your soul is close to you, breathing lightly on the back of your neck, and wakes you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/goose-bumps-happen-when-your-soul-is-close-to-you-breathing-lightly/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [We have become terribly vulnerable, not because we suffer but because we have separated ourselves from each other. A patient once told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/we-have-become-terribly-vulnerable-not-because-we-suffer-but-because/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [All natural processes are long processes and they last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/all-natural-processes-are-long-processes-and-they-last/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Deep inside, our integrity sings to us whether we are listening or not. It is a note that only we can hear. Eventually, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/deep-inside-our-integrity-sings-to-us-whether-we-are-listening-or-not/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [From a good teacher you may learn the secret of listening. You will never learn the secret of life. You will have to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/from-a-good-teacher-you-may-learn-the-secret-of-listening-you-will/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgement, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/to-seek-approval-is-to-have-no-resting-place-no-sanctuary-like-all/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) [Explore all 139 Rachel Naomi Remen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) ## More Broken quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [You don't want to fix things that aren't broken, so that kind of stops you from make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weidman/you-don-t-want-to-fix-things-that-aren-t-broken-so-that-kind-of-stops/) [Chris Weidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weidman/) > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Marriage is a desperate thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/marriage-is-a-desperate-thing/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [There is no pain like the first time you get your heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/there-is-no-pain-like-the-first-time-you-get-your-heart-broken/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [Broken china lasts longer than unbroken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/broken-china-lasts-longer-than-unbroken/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Don't fix what's not broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-atkins/don-t-fix-what-s-not-broken/) [Robert Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-atkins/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Rome, believe me, my friend, is like its own Monte Testaceo, Merelya marvellous mass of broken and castaway wine-pots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hugh-clough/rome-believe-me-my-friend-is-like-its-own-monte-testaceo-merelya/) [Arthur Hugh Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hugh-clough/) > [Its funny how someone breaks your heart but you still love them with all those broken pieces..!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-funny-how-someone-breaks-your-heart-but-you-still-love-them-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) [Browse all 5,851 Broken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. when you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rachel Naomi Remen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-three-different-ways-of-seeing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broken" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-three-different-ways-of-seeing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_broken_helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-thr_2486097.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_broken_helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-thr_2486097.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_broken_helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-thr_2486097.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as…” — Rachel Naomi Remen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rachel Naomi Remen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Helping, fixing, and serving represent three...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-three-different-ways-of-seeing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/helping-fixing-and-serving-represent-three-different-ways-of-seeing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```