Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
REVIEW VI
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
Lesson 215
- (195) Love is the way I walk in gratitude.
The Holy Spirit is my only guide. He walks with me in love. And I give thanks to Him for showing me the way to go.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.[1]
Morning and Evening Meditation
As we open today’s devotional practice we let our mind linger for a while on our refrain: I am not a body; I am free. I am still as God created me. In Lesson 195, we learn to thank our Father for only one thing – that we are united with Him and with every living thing – nothing could take away from the wholeness, the unity, our completion in God. We are still as God created us.
Many times when we say to be grateful to God we thank Him for our food. We thank Him for our clothes, our houses, the beauty of nature, our cars, our mates, our blessed family. And yet today’s lesson says to only thank God for this one thing which covers all things – He makes us one with all living things and with Him.
When we no longer fail to recognize what this means, gratitude takes the place of anger, bitterness, and thoughts of vengeance. All the thoughts of fear and sorrow, malice and ill-will are replaced by a deep and abiding gratitude that God cares for us and calls us His Son. What more could we possibly want?
Jesus tells us that gratitude goes hand-in-hand with love, and where there is love, there is gratitude. Gratitude is an aspect of the Love that brought forth Creation. In Christ, our hearts and minds are full of gratitude toward our family members. We no longer hold spite and thoughts of bitterness toward them for the ways in which they took more than their fair share, the ways in which they withheld their love and affection, the ways in which we were used and abused, misunderstood and thwarted. With gratitude that comes from Love we remember the delicious meals we shared, the fun games we played, the funny pranks we pulled on people. With gratitude we remember our trips in the car, the nature hikes, our quirky little habits, the ways in which they supported us and came to us in our hour of need. We will remember the lessons they taught us, the skills they shared with us. We will remember their gentle touch, their kind words, their soft, warm hugs, their deep chuckles. We will remember their forgiveness and their love. We will remember with grateful hearts and minds that they are our Savior even as we are their Savior for we are one with Christ.
In reviewing Lesson 195, we come to understand that we have no rivals, that we seek no vengeance, that we make no comparisons – we are only joined in love.
This is why we train our mind to forgive for when our forgiveness is complete we will experience total gratitude; we will see everything and everyone – including our Selves – with love. If this frightens you, do not allow the ego to put you off the Course. You do not want bitterness. You do not want a self-perception that puts you in a place of callously chasing after that which never satisfies and leaves you depressed, lonely, stricken, and ashamed. You do not want to feel bullied and sullied, surrounded by those who care nothing about you and where your future looks bleak and empty of love and solace. If your ego is trying to convince you that forgiveness is for saps, take this time of devotional practice and meditate upon the Love of God.
Love can walk only in the way of gratitude, Jesus tells us. This is the way we walk to God – with grateful hearts and minds, forgiven and forgiving, giving Him thanks even as He thanks us for being what we are – His Own completion, the Source of Love along with Him.
Today we close our meditation with this refrain: I am not a body, I am free. For I am still as God created me.
Walk in gratitude for this is the way to God.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 215. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992).
Audio credit: The Friar Patch at http://www.eckiefriar.com
