“Fear is a judgment never justified. Its presence has no meaning but to show you wrote a fearful script, and are afraid accordingly. But not because the thing you fear has fearful meaning in itself. (T641)”
Affirmation: “I would not write a fearful script today.”
Reflections:
1 – Anxiety
Many of us are, almost by nature, anxious. This is a manifestation of fear. If we can remember that we are fearful only because of the “script” we wrote, we can often make some progress in talking ourselves out of this anxiety.
2 – Prayer
Prayer, or communion with God, is recommending relatively few times in A Course in Miracles, I think, because this practice is just assumed. The opening pages of the Text do say more than the remainder about prayer and communion with God. Spending time in this way, I have found, is enormously fear- and anxiety-reducing. I can pray myself to sleep, even after a stressful day. Surely many others do this as well. Inspirational literature from the fifties recommended this practice (from Norman Vincent Peale’s anecdotes).
3 – Fear Is Never Justified
This passage says that fear is never justified. To remember this, and to put it in practice, is not easy. But it is possible. And, the Course says that its tenets are simple.
4 – God Will Help Us
I think that we fear when we don’t trust God to get us out of a bind. And it is certainly true that many, many distressing things happen in this illusory world. But the faithful individual does not let the fear get inside him or her. Of course, this is easier said than done. But inspirational literature abounds with unfortunate people who have risen above their misfortune, emotionally, by trusting in God to help them cope with whatever might befall them.
5 – Be Patient
It takes a patient mind to learn how to live simply. When we rush about and see the stress all around in our rushing, we ask for the anxiety that we would do well to live without. Let us leave the fearful script behind! We will still get to our goals, but with far less strain.
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
I would not write a fearful script today. You know that I have written many anxious scripts in my life, and I would be rid of that foolishness forever. Perhaps my anxiety is like St. Paul’s “thorn in his side,” but I hope not. I hope that I can, with Your ever-constant help, learn another way to live–just as did Bill and Helen.
Be with me as I walk through this day. Thank you for the equanimity with which I have met most days recently. I am finally finding, as spring approaches, that all is well. The stress has lifted, and You are there. Thank You.
Amen.
MIRACLES EACH DAY 