I will be teaching a class on Mission Statement and Rule of Life, and so had to do the work I am asking everyone else to do. What follows is my Mission Statement. I know the forum software will mangle the formatting, but so be it. If you have a Mission Statement and would like to share it, please do so:

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My existence was not my idea.
It was God’s
I am here because God has willed it so
I will continue to live in this world as long as God decides I will do so.

What is essential, then, is that I become the man God created me to be
To be me and no one else, for
No one else can be me, and
I can be no one else.

But who I am is mystery; to be explored, not defined.
Ideas about self are a two-edged sword:
clarifying, but also confining.
What is always true is that I am here, now, alive, gifted, and faced with a choice:
To be generous with my gifts, or to be stingy.
In generosity, the True Self is experienced and God is known experientially.
In stinginess, there is a taste of hell.

Generosity of spirit compels me to:
Depend on God for daily sustenance.
To care for the bodily vehicle I have been given.
To love those whom God has placed in my life, especially my wife and family.
To share of my giftedness, especially through listening, teaching, writing, encouraging,
and giving witness to the truth of Christ.
To be patient in suffering, and hope that I will be found worthy of my sufferings.
To be alert for opportunities to express gratitude.

My existence was not my idea.
It was God’s.
It is an incomparable gift,
and an opportunity to become a likeness of Christ.

I don't have a mission statement as such, but just last night I was thinking about my life and how I want to keep it simple, and how that simplicity is divided into three strands:

spiritual
familial
artistic


All three can be subdivided into various threads, and each interlocks with the other, but they are the threefold cord that binds my whole existence, and in each of them, God, divine light, divine will, is the source and purpose, the motivation, intention, and resolution.

In all of these, I agree wholeheartedly with your beautiful ideas of exploration and generosity, Phil

Thanks for sharing that Phil, it really spoke to me.

Thanks, guys.

Stephen, I think identifying the "essentials" as you have done is whole point of a mission statement.

I once had a spiritual directee who stated, "I pray and I teach." That kind of clarity naturally sheds light on a wide range of options.

BEAUTIFULLY SAID. Phil and Stephen....

Writing your own mission statement is a wonderful idea Phil. Thank you all for sharing yours. I will sit and reflect and write mine. Thank you all.

Phil,
That was a nice prose piece or poem but it was not a mission statement. Perhaps a spiritual reflection statement. A mission statement is categorical and business in nature with points and a timeline and levels of depth, achievements, plateaus, goals, not poetry.
Peace, Jim

Jim, it's a personal mission statement, nor a corporate or business one.
- see https://www.missionstatements....sion_statements.html and do a search for "personal mission statement" to locate other web sites.

Our course on "Discernment and Lifestyle" closes by asking people to write a personal mission statement, then to follow up by writing a rule of life. The mission statement is supposed to say something about who you are, how you've been gifted, and what you understand your mission in life to be. The rule of life gets specific concerning objectives and practices to achieve this, focusing on relationship with God, others (spouse, family, friends, etc.), care for self, service, and so forth.

What I've written is well within the general framework of a personal mission statement. Poetic prose is one way to express it. Some people just jot down a few words or phrases.

"The mission statement is supposed to say something about who you are, how you've been gifted, and what you understand your mission in life to be."

A mission statement is an interesting concept. My first mission statement came after my first prayer to God in the name of Jesus Christ and what I experienced during that prayer when I was five years old. And I guess that it has been my mission statement my whole life. "How can I be a part of what it is that They are doing?" Now I am sixty-eight years old and, looking back over my life, I was never given a mission. I wanted one, I asked for one, and I thought at times that I had a mission but none of them turned out to be real. It turns out that I am a part of what They are doing because I love and worship the Father and the Son. And I have always done what I can to share Them and Their love with others, but I was never given a mission. In my late forties, my fifties, and my early sixties I went through some very psychologically traumatic times which I came out of old and somewhat crippled up.

I very strongly wanted a mission, especially in my younger days, but things just never turned out that way and from there for years I got a lot of trials and tribulations that really brought me to my knees. I really love the Father and Lord Jesus, but I think that the mission ship has sailed. It is really hard for me to accept that because it has always been a really strong desire. So I do have hope for the future , but I think that is going to require some sort of Divine intervention or miracle for that hope to develop into something.

I really love your mission statement Phil and you have the support of my prayers and well wishes! I guess my mission statement would be a prayer for a mission, one that I can do in spite of my physical limitations.

Love, Tucker