Our Way Home Is by Sharing Ourselves

“My dear brothers and sisters, what you truly are cannot be improved upon. But because you are in a state of unremembering, you must relearn who you are. You can only relearn who you are by being who you are. You can only be who you are by sharing who you are.” (ACOL, C:31.17)

When we reach out to others, when we share ourselves, we get along better. And this is, perhaps surprisingly, the only way, Jesus says, that we can be who we are. That is because we are One with all, everyone, everything, and God Himself. So to deny this by trying to isolate ourselves is to go against nature, our nature, the original nature that God gave us in our creation.

We can test this out, especially when we are feeling extroverted. Initiate several contacts with others, either by phone or in person (phone or in person works better than email). When we are reaching out in this way, there is an easy camaraderie, and a lifting of spirits. We can then, however introverted we might be, draw back in and reflect on the good feeling that engulfs us. We will feel better for sharing ourselves, even if the matters discussed are mundane and in no obvious way bear on the spiritual.

This morning I was feeling isolated and sleepy. I made three phone calls to friends, and immediately I was enlivened. Was this not an example of what Jesus is saying in this passage for today? He knows that we are meant to share ourselves, and when we turn inward too much, we don’t share and we don’t feel good.

We want to remember who we are. When we do so, we remember that we are children of God, partners with all of our brothers and sisters. We are inhabitants of a beautiful world, bringers of good tidings to others, individuals blessed by our circumstances. We are innocent, according to A Course in Miracles, never having sinned (which would be unredeemable), but guilty only of having made mistakes, mistakes that can be corrected in the present.

Reach out to others today, even if we are extremely introverted. The day will take on a luminous quality, any sunshine outside the house will be magnified.

Jesus is right. We learn who we are by sharing who we are. There is no better way to function in this world. No clearer and quicker route to self-knowledge.

Dear Father/Mother,

I would continue on the path that I started this morning, a path of sharing. I would look around me, even at strangers, and give them a smile. I would reach out to my friends and family; I would join with others as I share something of myself. The day will go better. Indeed, the day will blossom into a genuine blessing, for I will be following divine will.

Thank you for the insight that Jesus offers in A Course of Love. The way opens up, and this day becomes a lesson in giving of myself to others. And what better way to live?

Amen.