Lesson 124: Let me remember I am one with God.
A woman I know who travels a lot has been sheltering-in-place with her partner in their RV since March. She ventured out recently for supplies and was accosted by a man in a parking lot who pointed to her out-of-state plates and demanded to know why she was traveling during this time of pandemic.
The man, she noted, was not wearing a mask or any other protective gear, but did remain more than six feet away from her. She did not reply to the man (what good would an explanation do, anyway) and got into her car to avoid a confrontation. Once safely inside her car, she says she looked at him and thought “man who is scared, expressing himself.” Then, she thought to herself, “love one another.”
She waved at the man as she left the parking lot, giving us a case study on how to apply today’s lesson. Not only did she remember she was one with God, but saw the enraged man in the parking lot as who he was as well – a frightened body calling for love.
This pandemic has rattled all of us – some to our very core – and has made identification with our bodies, and their ability to get sick and die, a very real thing. This lesson calls us back to our true home – to our oneness not just with God but with everyone around us. We are all God walking around in flesh suits, trying hard to remember who we are. We are all at different points on the path and my friend’s experience shows us how we can be love in action in every moment.
She could have argued with the man. She could have explained her situation. She could have yelled at him for not having a mask on while he was yelling at her for being from a different state. She could have met his fear with fear, his hate with hate. Instead, she met him with love. She didn’t have to verbally tell him that she saw through his fear and anger to his true, Divine Self. She did it silently, and I am sure, on some level, she healed that man’s fear – even if it was just a tiny bit. She certainly healed her own fear, and as A Course in Miracles tells us, when one is healed, we are all healed together.
Let us aspire to remember today’s lesson in every moment – especially those where fear challenges the truth about ourselves. We are one with God, we can be nothing else. Whenever we think we are, we have wandered back into the world of illusion.
Let us praise those who set the example, Hafiz says, but like my friend, we don’t have to make a big show out of it.
He writes:
What is true enlightenment? It is knowing
everything is rave-worthy,
but having the balance, the discernment, to
withhold your applause at times, when there are
young souls near … or people trying to sleep.
Photo by John Kappa on Unsplash