I sit out in the rain, and I just can’t refrain from smiling, I’m crying. I am He and She is me, side by side we face Reality. Side by side, He is my guide; I do not hide my soul from Him, God within, I’m free from sin. And I wonder how romance, could compare to this dance; This dance of love we share. It can’t compare, nothing can compare.

I was in my early 20’s and on my walkabout one summer during my college years about 30 years ago. The wind was raging, intense lightening was flashing all around me and the rain was pouring buckets and buckets, just pounding my tiny, flimsy one-man tent. I was in awe of the power of the storm and was feeling a profound connection with Spirit. I was in the middle of the stubble of some cotton field somewhere off the back roads of Louisiana. The water was pooling in the lower corners of my tent, and my sleeping bag and all my stuff was soaked to the bone as I penned these lines “...Nothing Can Compare” onto my damp notebook.

That experience of my deep connection to God and the whole universe during that storm was powerful, and was nestled in the daily solitude and intense joy of my walkabout that summer. The silence of the open road, the stillness of nature all around me and the verdant, potent green of the trees and grass all continued to work their magic on me as I walked day after day, week after week and month after month down the back roads of Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, safe in the cradle of the everlasting arms of Spirit. During the course of the months on the road that summer, something deep inside me shifted as I opened more and more to the profound love of Spirit in a subtle, beautiful and remarkable sort of way.

After that summer, I got back to the rest of my life in college, and that deep sense of the Divine all around me faded away due to the hectic schedule of my busy life. However, the seed of that knowing was planted and nurtured deep within me and has remained burning like a glowing ember of truth that would never be forgotten.  Through the years of building a career as a therapist, raising a family and taking care of the numerous responsibilities of being a husband and father, I have never completely forgotten that glowing ember of truth living inside me, and over the years this seed of truth has continued quietly spreading through the inner recesses of my being.

I have come to the conclusion that my relationship with Spirit is the reason and the source of my existence. Nothing else can compare, and nothing else matters, period. By no means am I perfect, but every day I do my best to nurture my awareness of Spirit within myself and in my relationships with those around me.

The Sufi’s have an ancient saying that we have 50,000 layers between us and God, but there is nothing between God and us. I know the truth is that Spirit is with me here and now and that I am never alone. That is Reality, and the love of Spirit surrounds me, even when the fears of my ego blind me to the truth.

I have a personal mission statement that I use like a mantra to remind me of the truth of God’s love all around me all the time, and when the fears of my emotional baggage starts to get loud in my mind, I use this mantra to remind me of the truth. This practice is a spiritual discipline that gives me a more solid place to stand in facing the many challenges of my life and reminds me of who I am when I forget this truth.

I am sourced by Spirit. I bask in the overwhelming love of the One. 

It can be helpful to create your own personal mission statement to serve as a north star or a guiding compass point in your decision-making process when the challenges of your life seem overwhelming. Here’s some ideas on creating and effectively using your mission statement:

Creating Your Personal Mission Statement:

1. Go within and feel the source of unconditional love deep within you. Do your best to give words to your experience of your connection and identification with your Source.
2. Write down a mission statement that describes the truth of your best self and the truth of your connection with the Divine essence of unconditional love.
3. When you are struggling with your life challenges or with your inner demons, say your mission statement to yourself to help you find your center before you decide how to respond to any difficulty big or small.
   1. Let this inner knowing become a lighthouse that can serve as your North Star or compass point in your decision-making process through the challenges of your life.
4. Practice reminding yourself of the truth of your inner nature until it becomes a mental habit that is your go to self-talk in times of stress.
   1. Do not use this practice to suppress or deny your fears or ignore the challenges of your situation; that is a misuse of this technique. Rather use your mission statement to give you a solid foundation or ground of being from which to address your internal issues and the difficulties in your life.  
5. Update your mission statement whenever you think the time is right to make it real, alive and relevant to your current life circumstances. 

Thanks for tuning in. Namaste,

Steven Fisher