“Not one day is meant to be lived in a struggle with what it brings. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: ‘A Treatise on the New,’ 2.21)”
1 – Fighting Life
What a reassuring statement this passage is! We do not have to “fight” life, and indeed we are leading ourselves wrongly when we try. We learn that acceptance is the way to the real life, the true life. An awakened individual, about whom I once read, said that his secret was that it did not matter to him what happened. This reminds us of Paul in the New Testament, when he asserts that, whatsoever state he is in, therewith he has learned to be content.
2 – The Past
Many of us have struggled through long years of turmoil, drama, and anxieties—filled with pain and sometimes suffering. How we view our past lives is largely a matter of attitude. It is possible to see everything as a blessing, in that it brought you to this point, a point that we would not deny but would accept.
3 – Faith
Even the most abject sufferers in this world of ours, as we perceive predicaments, may have a strong faith and not feel put upon. This again comes back to attitude. It is possible to see everything as bringing you to this point in life and as doing so benignly.
4 – Rose-Colored Glasses?
This is not looking at the world with rose-colored glasses. This is the truth that we have been saved from much, that things could have been much worst. We often do not know what our blessings are; we would thank God that we have been saved from some of those things that we wanted the most at the time.
5 – Struggle
This is the way that we see struggle. But a little adjustment in point of view would make such a difference. And Jesus is showing us that difference in A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love.
6 – Contentment
Jesus would have us to be content on a daily basis, even when life seems tough to us. Truly it will not seem so tough if we bow to his recommendation. Life is at times a struggle, but it is a clean struggle if we have asked forgiveness for our mistakes, and we can thereby led to experience the pure joy and limitless release that A Course in Miracles promises.
7 – Clean Life
May we live today a clean life, living in the promise of forgiveness from A Course in Miracles, and living in the unity and relationship promised in A Course of Love. Then we will turn aside from the suffering that we feel, and even pain is a “clean” pain, with no hint of the “in extremis” feeling that we may have felt in our past. Life today can be lived better, and what a joy that is!
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
May I live today without struggle, as Jesus has promised is possible. May I live in harmony and love, and may I let go of all the “issues” that seem to arise that only upset my peace. Life is not meant to be a struggle. I thank You for that promise.
Be with me today as I go about the day, seeking to recall the promise with which I am beginning this day. Be there for me, the prayer that I pray so much. I know that You are there, always, and it is only I that sometimes forget.
May the day bring only good. May I make the right decisions. May You walk with me, showing me the way constantly. Thank You for the effortless way that You direct me.
Amen.