Who I Am Is Love (By Liah Howard)

Thirty years ago I wrote my mission statement for my life. It read: "I am here to feel connected to love and to help others feel their connection to universal love as well." This is a noble statement and it has served me well. Recently, as I have grown spiritually, I have rewritten my mission statement to match my expanded soul's expression. Here is how it reads now: "My mission in life is to remember that who I am is love and to help others to remember that they are love too."

I have evolved from the notion that "I am connected to love," for that implies that love is outside of me somewhere, invisible and unseen and I must drink it in for nourishment. I must seek it and claim it to feel complete. If this is the case, I have to keep resupplying myself with this outside source to stay connected to love. I unconsciously seek ways to fill this believed deficit in myself based on the false belief that "who I am is not love." This external quest for love is exhausting. It may include attending numerous seminars, going to counseling, searching dating sites or doing good acts towards others to earn their positive regard. While these are beneficial endeavors, they are motivated by the premise that "I am not enough." Another way I can fuel this illusion of lack is by sitting in meditation for hours at a time in the hopes that nirvana or feelings of perfect peace or bliss will somehow descend from the heavens and transform me. I may sit for hours in meditation trying to connect to the universal source of love outside of me, instead of remembering that "who I am is love," regardless of having to do anything. I am not separate from the source of love! People can seek endless different external ways to get connected to a feeling of love. The result is usually an empty dissatisfaction.

There is a divine perfection in the universe and that source is within us all, and it is love. Thinking that who I am is not enough, or that I am not pretty enough, smart enough, rich enough or successful enough continues to feed the delusion that I am separate from the source of goodness and love. The way out of this fantasy is to recognize and embody the fact that "who I am is love."

So how do I shift my awareness to this new paradigm that says, "I am love" rather than "I am connected to love?" One method that I use is to remind myself of a simple phrase I read on a greeting card, "All there is, is love, and my resistance to it." If I apply this principle to my life, I see that my mind wants to judge, separate and compartmentalize everything and everyone. The truth is, that if who I am is love, then who you are is love too. When I look for the similarities instead of the differences in people, countries, religions, and political beliefs, I free myself to accept and appreciate the myriad ways the spirit of the universe expresses itself as love. I don't have to change you or your beliefs to feel OK. We are love and we are one in this sea of life. We are connected at the deepest level of our beings. Perhaps this feeling of connection and belonging is what each of us deeply seeks from life.

Does knowing that we are love mean that we just sit on the sidelines of life and merely radiate love without contributing our time and talents to what is happening in this world? No! Absolutely not! When we respond to life from a place of completeness instead of emptiness, we are able to transcend petty differences and disagreements around us and make a contribution of love and hope to others, instead. These days, I don't feel threatened by differences in others because I remember that the truth of our being is the same. It is love. From this place of fullness, we can implement change in the world by inviting others to join us in remembering their innermost divine nature, and reconnect to their wholeness and purpose. This is the work that I do as a practicing psychic. When people remember their interconnectedness, a natural caring for one another arises. This shift in awareness changes the choices we make regarding how we treat ourselves, and how we contribute our love into the world.

One of the by-products of remembering that we are not separate from each other is compassion. With compassion comes understanding and with understanding comes the ability and the willingness to reach out and help people who are spiritually suffering. These are individuals who have forgotten that they, also, are love. Here is an example from my own life. There is an older retired man who lives in my apartment complex who lives alone and is quite reclusive. Let's call him Jake. He lives downstairs in the middle of the building right between the two stairwells. I never really noticed him until some notes started getting taped to all the residents' doors. These notes were warnings from the management company to not use any water outside and to not feed the feral cat. Upon investigation, I learned that Jake watches everything that goes on in the building. He reports fellow residents to the management company whenever he feels someone has broken a rule. Recently, one woman received a fine of $50 for watering a small vegetable garden out front and another resident was given a written warning for feeding a feral cat that adopted her.

My first reaction was "What the heck! Why does he care if vegetables get watered or a cat gets fed?" And then "Why does his opinion matter so much when all the other residents like the garden and the cat?" Notice how quickly I went into a mode of "Us vs. Him." Then a tiny voice from deep within me said, "Stop it! The truth is, this man is lonely and frightened and has forgotten that he is love." I redirected my thoughts and chose to send prayers of peace to his heart instead of wanting to knock on his door and say, "You mean old man, mind your own business!" Another option for me was to just give him "stink eye" when we cross paths in the parking lot, while judging him and sending bad vibes his way. The Course in Miracles says that, "Every loving thought is true. Everything else is an appeal for healing and help, regardless of the form it takes."

The ancient fight for survival of the fittest ends when I remember that other people's suffering is my suffering. I am part of the human race and I belong here. There is no one to dominate, control or manipulate because who we all are at essence is the same. Instead of sitting by idly or acting rashly to change the world, I have learned to be still and listen to my heart and to my innermost nature, which is love. I ask, "what would love do in this situation or circumstance?" I relax and wait for some inspiration. Then a new idea comes to mind and my path is clear. Perhaps a new mission statement for our planet in these awakening times could be this: "These are the days to remember that we are all here as love and to treat each other accordingly."


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