We are all part of the great evolutionary process through which matter with its inherent quality of separation is gradually transformed into spirit with the inherent quality of union. We choose our own speed on the path – some going slowly and others more quickly. For those who want to advance most rapidly, service to others becomes central to their entire orientation to life.

 Why do we serve? Because we are souls in incarnation who, at the deepest level, know only unity. We literally know that we are one with all life at the very core of our beings. We remember in a deep and profound way that separation is but an appearance sustained by the mind as a fact of life. In reality we know beyond all doubt that we are our brothers and sisters: one life expressing in many forms.

All these truths are seldom experienced in waking consciousness, yet they remain deeply embedded within our awareness. When we serve, we allow that deepest part of ourselves to express. The rest of our being – in particular those aspects of mind and emotion that are deeply associated with separation – can become unhappy, uncomfortable and anxious almost to the state of panic if we persist in helping others. This is the crux of this path: all that would resist our soul nature rages to the fore to be seen for what it is. And now we must be very skillful. Can we lovingly accept these voices, needs and thoughts without surrendering to them? Can we see them as children who it is our privilege to educate? Can we allow them to express their experience without fully identifying with it as our experience? Can we honor the voice of separation without becoming that voice?

All this is difficult. It requires considerable psychological awareness and a firm commitment to the soul, the path, the entire spiritual nature of that life within us. But for those who possess these qualities, service and the radical path of self-transformation it fosters become central to life. We endure the tension of transformation because it is our deepest calling.

Again, service is the nature of the soul. It knows only love. It incarnates time after time gradually bringing the personality to a point of development where it can begin to sense the soul. From there on it is only a matter of time before the union of soul and personality becomes complete and the world beholds a great server of all life such as Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa. These know only love and find the ways to meaningfully express that love in the world.

All of us are ultimately called to our own smaller versions of their triumphs. We are here to bring love into the world in some way – perhaps only in our family relationships or perhaps through broader spheres of human interaction. We are embodiments of love who need to find the ways to express our essence and reduce the emphasis on our separate forms. Look for small steps every day. Eventually they add up to a great journey.

George Catlin, PhD is the author of “The Way to Happiness.” He studied extensively at the University of Massachusetts earning a PhD in Psychology following that he was a professor at Carthage College. He conducts seminars and workshops and can be reached at service@devorss.com.