Day 62

Today's Lesson:

Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.

As we remember to forgive - both ourselves and others - we will begin to remember who we really are. Attack thoughts will be replaced by forgiveness, so that thoughts of life will replace thoughts of death. Every time we attack someone else (or ourselves), we call upon our own weakness, while every time we forgive, we call upon the strength of Christ in us. Forgiveness will remove all sense of weakness, strain and fatigue from our minds. It will take away all fear and guilt and pain.

Practicing today's lesson will help to make the day as happy as God wants us to be. It will also help those around us, as well as those who seem to be far away in space and time, to share this happiness with us.

Miracles I'm noticing:

The more I study this course, the more I notice that nearly everything that catches my attention has something to do with what I'm learning here. I look at the entire world differently when I think about ego-spirit, love-fear, forgiveness, and other concepts I'm learning. The one I still have trouble with at times is forgiveness, because my years and years of religious training have given me a different view of forgiveness than I'm learning here. Wikipedia defines forgiveness as "the mental, emotional and/or spiritual process of ceasing to feel resentment or anger against another person for a perceived offence, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution." That definition always makes me feel as though I'm better than the person I'm forgiving and that's not what the course says forgiveness is.

According to the course, forgiveness recognizes what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It sees there was no sin. And in that view are all your sins forgiven. What is sin, except a false idea about God's Son? Forgiveness merely sees its falsity, and therefore lets it go. What then is free to take its place is now the Will of God.

I'm on my way back to North Dakota today - leaving the sun and blue sky and returning to the cold and snow. But it will be a great opportunity for me to appreciate the distinctions and to join my community of friends. I'm blessed and grateful for the opportunity to travel, but also to appreciate what I have back home. That's surely a miracle!