The "How" and the "What" of My "Why?"

In my post last week, I shared some thoughts about the importance of identifying our “why,” and encouraged us all to ponder that question for ourselves. In addition, I said that I had come to understand that my “why” is “to serve God.” Today, I am sharing that I spoke too soon. Upon further reflection, I realized that serving God is more about the “how” and “what” rather than my “why.” Additionally, I realized that while “Why?” is the fundamental question, “Who?” “What?” “When?” and “How?” are also important to ponder.

As I sat in meditation and contemplation last Friday morning in preparation for my Sunday lesson at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, it became clear to me that “serving God” is an aspect of how I will fulfill my “why,” or stated another way, how I will live my mission. With this realization, I went within and asked, “If it is not my mission to “serve God,” then what is it? What came was, “to co-create a world living unity consciousness.”

While I deeply resonated with those words, I recognized that even though my New Thought friends and family would completely understand, those not familiar with some of our common terminology might not. Because it is important to me to be able to relate to the entire world, and not just to those of “like mind,” I wanted to incorporate more commonly used words. After searching the Thesaurus, I landed on the word ‘engender’ in place of ‘co-create’ and omitted the word ‘consciousness,’ to arrive at my mission statement – “To engender a world living unity.”

I do not mean to suggest that my mission is to solely promote the ideology and Truth principles taught by the Unity movement, although that will be an aspect of my “what.” I mean that it is my mission to do all within my power and sphere of influence to encourage and support all people in knowing their unity in God, as well as with all humanity and all creation. In addition, it is my mission to support all people in living from the realization of unity as respects how we treat each other, our Mother Earth and all her inhabitants, and our environment.

Knowing God, loving God and serving God, which I have discussed in previous posts, are all aspects of “how” and “what” to best to live my “why.” I mean that they help to inform me of how I will “engender a world living unity” and what I will do to “engender a world living unity.”

We know God by surrendering our ego-dominated thinking and opening to higher knowing; by humbly letting go and letting God; by listening deeply to the voice of the Inner Knower; by using our power of faith to see the activity of God in and through all; and by trusting that all is working for our highest good, even in the times when it appears otherwise.

We love God by choosing love over fear. Loving God asks us to be self-aware and self-accountable. Individually, we are the only ones who can know if we are in fear or in love. We are the only ones who can make the decision to shift from fear to love. Loving God also requires that we are honest with ourselves. We must be willing not to deny when we are in fear, but to courageously admit it to ourselves and possibly to another, especially if we find that fulfilling that need helps in moving us back to love. Loving God also includes loving ourselves, even when we recognize that we are in fear and are acting from fear. It is not helpful to judge or condemn ourselves. When we own our fear-fueled thoughts, words or actions, and choose to love and forgive ourselves for them, we are more able to extend the same to others when they act or speak in ways that stimulate pain for us. Forgiveness is a key to loving God as ourselves and God as others. Through exercising these “how to’s,” we avail ourselves of the transforming power of love. As we are transformed, we help to heal and transform the world.

We serve God as we recognize and appreciate the unique and wondrous expression of God that we are. Each of us is here because we have something special that only we can bring to the world. It is important to us to own that, recognize when we are allowing fear to block us from giving of ourselves, and make the choice to move through it so that we can show up fully in our magnificence.

In addition, we serve God as ourselves by taking care of others and ourselves mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically. It is vitally important that we care for ourselves. We can only extend to others the care that we extend to ourselves. As flight attendants remind us at the start of every flight, “secure your oxygen mask before attempting to assist others.” We cannot serve others when we are depleted.

We also serve God by choosing to consciously connect with the Life Energy that is living itself as all creation. We serve God by taking responsibility for the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink; the same air and water that we share with all the Earth’s inhabitants. We serve God by recognizing that we are all one, and allowing that recognition to inform our thoughts, words and actions. We treat each other as Mother Theresa once said, as though we see the face of Christ in each one.

To engender a world living unity, I must do my best to show up fully in every moment, to be present for whoever or whatever appears before me, to boldly acknowledge and freely share my gifts and talents with the world, to care for those who are hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick, imprisoned, and without shelter, and to example loving kindness, compassion and empathy for others and myself.

All the forgoing helps to answer the questioning, “Why?” “How?” and “What?” The answers to “When?” and “Who?” are also imperative to define. There is no time like the present. Now is the time for us to begin to live in alignment with our deepest longing. Further, only we can do it. Each of us is responsible for making conscious choices in every moment to think, speak and act in alignment with our “why.” I borrow from first-century Jewish scholar, Hillel, when I say,“If not now, when? If not me, who?”