“Miracles come from a little seed of hope, a glimpse, a vision of something beautiful that makes our heart sing. Sometimes we can fall in love with it so much so that we are willing to trust and listen to inspiration and act on what we have been guided to do. That is when miracles happen. That is faith.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’
About 10 years ago I spent a whole year being mentored by Steve Seibold, the then president of the National Speakers Association’s Million Dollar Speaker Group. Steve speaks to Fortune 500 corporations all around the world, coaching them on the importance of Mental Toughness.
After retiring from playing professional tennis, Steve took to the speaking stage working alongside his mentor and founder of public speaking, Bill Gove. Steve and his wife Dawn now teach the Bill Gove Speaker Training School. He has some amazing stories and I really appreciate everything I learned in that year being mentored by Steve.
At our very last in person group training session, I stood up in front of a dozen men to tell my story about my daughter Celeste and her last few days with us before she passed.
Celeste had been given the diagnosis that she only had days or weeks left to live. The tumors in her brain had grown and spread and there wasn’t anything else the doctors could do. Celeste was completely at peace with the idea that her time here on earth was coming to a close. She told us quite plainly that she wanted to go peacefully in her sleep.
So, every night before bed she would not only say good night, but she would also say goodbye. Then the next morning when she woke up, she would pout and say “Mummy, why am I still here? I didn’t get to go yet!” and I would have to explain that I guess she needed to stay one more day.
One night as she prepared for bed and was saying goodnight and goodbye, she said to me, “Mummy, I’m going to miss you!”
As tears welled up in my eyes, I replied, “Sweety, I’m going to miss you too …. but there is something you need to know. Everything I learned about being a Mummy I learned from my Mummy, and unlike other grandmothers who can be old and crotchety, Nana Joy was only 38 years old when she died. I look just like my mum, and I sound just like my mum. It’s like you are going to going from one Mummy to another Mummy and I know you will be in the best hands possible. I can completely trust Nana Joy to take care of you for me.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Steve wiped his tears and said to me, “Laura, I have been teaching mental toughness for over 20 years, and I don’t know how you just did what you did.” As I thought about Steve’s remark, I realized you can’t do what I do with mental toughness, it can only come from Spiritual Strength.
Over the years I have continued to contemplate what it takes to become Spiritually Strong. Here is my list:
Seven things I have learned to become spiritually strong:
1. Live an inspired faith-filled life by developing a connection to God.
2. Pray and meditate daily.
3. Courageously ask for what I need.
4. Love unconditionally.
5. Give generously and show charity.
6. See the world through a Divine perspective.
7. Express gratitude daily.
Which of these do you need to focus on more to become more Spiritually Strong in your life?
“There is beauty and peace in helping my child make a graceful transition to heaven.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’