By Zakiah Senin
Author Sherry Anderson once said, “Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless but because they’re priceless.”
This is one of the driving forces that keeps volunteers serving without expecting anything in return —especially not monetary rewards.
While money may ease the path of life, to expect it would burden the heart and diminish the joy of giving. Isn’t that a hindrance?
Thus, to be a volunteer, if one can set aside such feelings and remain focused on intention and purpose, that itself is a victory. Not a victory to be loudly proclaimed, but one that blossoms quietly in the heart, felt only by the self.
In truth, whether as volunteers or in any role, every action we take springs from the values within us. Simply put: good values give rise to good actions, and the opposite is equally true.
Yet between values and actions lies a special space —a space of consideration and decision-making. It is here that conflicts emerge: between wants and needs, between life’s pressures and limited choices, between selfish desire and dignity.
Everything wrestles and collides in this space. And it is here that reason, emotion, and spiritual sincerity must play their roles.
Emotion drives action, but if it leads, we easily go astray — acting rashly, harshly, and later regretting it.
Reason offers balance and control; it calms emotion and helps us choose wisely. Yet without pure values, reason too can justify self-interest.
Spirituality unites them both — soothing emotion, guiding reason, and birthing action not merely out of necessity or logic, but out of awareness, trust, and the grace of God.
In other words: listen to emotion, but do not hand it the reins.
Use reason, but do not let it deceive truth. Steady the soul with faith — for there, emotion is humbled and reason shown the way.
(My reflections on volunteerism — principles close to my heart—are also shared in my book Suka Rela Sukar Lawan, published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in 2024. For inquiries, please contact zakiahsenin@gmail.com)
Zakiah Senin is a lead volunteer with Yayasan SALAM Malaysia, an NGO dedicated to volunteerism in Malaysia for the past 30 years.