PART II. SECTION 3: WHAT IS THE WORLD
Lesson 250 Let Me Not See Myself As Limited
- Let me behold the Son of God today, and witness to his glory. Let me not try to obscure the holy light in him, and see his strength diminished and reduced to frailty; nor perceive the lacks in him with which I would attack his sovereignty.
- He is Your Son, my Father. And today I would behold his gentleness instead of my illusions. He is what I am, and as I see him, so I see myself. Today I would see truly that this day I may at last identify with him.[1]
Notes and Personal Application We all have characters in our lives who cause us to worry and give rise to concern. While every single person we meet has their own particular set of virtues and vices, it is the foibles of our family members and close friends which bombard our peace and cause us the most consternation. When those we hold dearest exhibit personality disorders, greed and selfishness, lack of direction, a tendency towards careless relationships, and bad manners it is difficult, if not impossible, for us to bear witness to their glory.
Especially in the case of our children and grandchildren, it is all too easy to fall prey to our egos and expect them to be extensions of ourselves. We interfere in their lives, we demand their allegiance to our traditions, we expect them to like our friends and despise our enemies. Often we stand between them and learning the necessary lessons that they need not only to survive and thrive in this world, but the spiritual truths that Holy Spirit teaches throughout the natural unfolding of their development. We demand they adopt our values, take over the family business, raise their children in the same religious dogma, and never bring shame or infamy on the family name. We make it very clear that their joy fills us with happiness, their achievements and glory brighten our lives, while their heartaches give us pain, their dishonor and shame brings us sorrow, their unhappy mental states give us cause for alarm. Many times our egos trick us into believing that we are to blame for every wrong choice they make, every heartache they experience, every setback or attack they endure. We make the mistake of thinking of ourselves as God in their lives instead of brothers.
Today we are to look past the specialness in the relationships we have in our lives. We see them not as extensions of our ego. We put aside all our desires and wishes for them in the world, and we recognize them as brothers, as part of the Sonship in all its glory. We will not interfere with their glory! We will not focus upon their needs or their limitations. We will not focus upon the ways in which we failed them, or they failed us. Jesus tells us today to recognize His sovereignty and their sovereignty. In other words, when we quiet our minds and hearts, put aside our human wants and desires for those who are special to us, we can recognize our oneness with Christ. We can stop worrying and fretting. We can stop blaming ourselves or wondering what we can do to alleviate their burdens or make up for past wrongs. We can stop pressuring them to do things our way, to make the choices we think they should make, to avoid the pitfalls we made. We can happily stand aside and allow them to lead their own lives, learn their own lessons, come to God their own way. We do not have to preach at them, lecture them, or worry over them. We trust in God; we trust in them.
In Part Two, Section Three – What is the world, we learned that the world and all that is in it is God’s Son, making up a story of separation, seemingly trapped in an illusion of despair and death, in desperate need of salvation. Today, let us awaken in Christ. Today, let His holy light be our holy light; His strength be our strength; His sovereignty be our sovereignty. Let us trade in our special relationships for holy relationships and see others as we see ourselves, as holy Sons of God, equipped with all we need to find our way to Him.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 250. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992).
Audio credit: the friar patch @ http://www.eckiefriar.com
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