Sending Joy

“Today I can go past all fear, and be restored to love and holiness and peace. Today I am redeemed, and born anew into a world of mercy and of care; of loving kindness and the peace of God.” A Course In Miracles

I will face every encounter and every experience with this thought, “How can I be kind here?”

A child on the playground runs to his/her fallen friend and lifts them up and wipes their tears. That is kindness.

Someone sees another, not as guilty, but as them in another time and place.  That is kindness.

A brother calls his sister and says, “I’m so sorry.”  That is kindness.

An adult child calls their parents to say thank you. That is kindness.

A woman picks a flower for herself, then turns and hands it to someone walking by.  That is kindness.

A person senses someone’s pain and reaches out a hand to offer help.  That is kindness.

Someone sees another’s burden and offers to help carry it with them. That is kindness.

An employer sees his/her employee working hard and extends gratitude.  That is kindness.

A parent lovingly puts a meal on the table for their family.  That is kindness.

The children offer to do the dishes. That is kindness.

A sister forgives her sister, a husband forgives his wife, a friend forgives an enemy. That is kindness.

Someone feeds the hungry.

Someone loves an animal.

Someone holds a child.

Kindness. Kindness. Kindness.

Let us walk through our day listening and observing and then ask ourselves, “How can I be kind here?”

“They stand in shining silence …”
… who accepts God’s gifts can never suffer.” 
 A Course In Miracles

“I will be still and accept God’s gifts today.”

Let us rest our mind a moment and think nothing. 

It is in thinking nothing that we find everything.  Stillness is calm and gentle. It is ever present and always ready and waiting to lighten the heavy heart and calm the racing mind. Stillness is real and palpable and lives and breathes within us. Stillness lifts our spirits and heals our thoughts and gently reminds us that we belong to it and it to us.

Stillness is God’s voice quietly reminding us that He will fill our hearts with His love as soon as we surrender our grievances to Him and allow Him entry through the doorway of our minds and hearts.

Stillness is peace. 
It is our guiding star.

It is beautiful. 
It is practical.

It is the place where we are perfect and where perfection only means happiness and joy. Let’s open to this gift so we can use it lovingly every moment of every day throughout the year. And then let’s share it with everyone we encounter. God’s gift of stillness is the one gift that truly keeps on giving. 

It’s called re-gifting. 

“… you think you have a thousand choices when there is really only one to make.” “God did not make a meaningless world.” “Choose Again.” A Course In Miracles

“I will make the choice for God today.”

Human conditions are not God’s choice for us nor is He in a position to stop us from our insanity. But He did create us Holy and Whole so that we, even in our human form, are capable of making choices from that perfect place from which we were created. And we can choose a better way, a higher thought, whenever we want. And that is where our power lies.

For every fear thought, there is a loving thought nearby; for every cloud, a golden lining. This Christmas season and New Year begin a Blessings Journal. Instead of focusing upon all that is wrong in your life, spend some time each evening before you go to bed and look quietly upon your day. Where you see unsightly weeds or thorns of pain and sadness, look instead for light and glorious blooms on the Christmas cactus. Let the flowers symbolize for you, all the beautiful moments and everyone for which you can be grateful.

Let everything you have experienced and everyone you have encountered be a teaching tool for peace; an opportunity for forgiveness. Write down what you have learned. And then write down each loving gift; the ones that are clear and the ones you may have overlooked. The ones that are huge and the ones that are barely visible. Pay attention to your life as you go about your day.  Let this exercise strengthen you and help you remember that even in the weed and thorn infested moments of insanity, there are blossoms of joyous thinking trying to break free.

Search carefully for those moments you can put into your blessings journal. And then just before you fall asleep say, “Thank you, God. Thank you for all that I have learned. Thank you for my life. Thank you for showing me this world through Your Eyes.  And thank you for using me as a healing channel for peace everywhere and at all times. ” 

And now your path is clear for it is strewn with the flowers of Holy, Healing Love.  And you will know that YOU are the greatest blessing in your life.

And remember…

“I am the light of the world.
That is my only function.
That is why I am here.”
A Course In Miracles

“This is the season you would celebrate everyone.”
“This is the journey’s purpose.” A Course In Miracles

“God celebrates us in every season.” 

Can we see how each season symbolizes the seasons of our spirit’s journey?

Spring is the beginning when we have new budding thoughts that push up and out giving us the opportunity to experience a better way.  Summer brings us light and laughter and the understanding that we can have fun as we learn and grow.  Fall symbolizes the harvesting of God’s abundance and then seeing how our choice for true forgiveness shines like a sunburst of many colors blazing through our minds. Winter is a time to rest in the peace that we have planted, cultivated, harvested and now may savor in quiet confidence and perfect certainty.

God gives us everything and asks for so little in return. Only a little willingness. Let’s take His hand as a child would, smile our thanks, gift Him our trust and allow Him to lead us gently through the seasons of our journey. And at the end we will find a rainbow of riches, a sun ray of joy and the shining star of everlasting peace.

“Have you ever considered how many opportunities
you have had to gladden yourself and how many of them you have refused?” A Course In Miracles

“Today I will TRUST.”

The most important attribute for change is TRUST. We must trust that there is a Power that exists beyond our small selves. A Power that only Loves us and sees beyond fear and so is able to transcend fear for us. God is able, with just our tiny willingness to help us change our minds and transform all fear into pure joy. And then we can rest in Him and trust in ourselves.

We are now able to trust that we deserve health, happiness and peace, abundance and a heavenly experience right here on earth. We can see that we are trusting when life is simple. If it seems as though we are fighting for survival or if we feel stressed or uncertain then we know we are making a mistake and trying to create our own destiny.

When we trust, we allow and when we allow our experiences instead of trying to manipulate them or force them into our limited vision of what should be, our lives expand and every day becomes a miracle. Then beautiful, positive and perfect change just happens without our needing to worry about a thing.

Let’s not neglect or deny our gifts.  Or try to push and pull our lives into our own small vision of how we think things should be. Instead we must trust in God’s Gifts and believe in our True Self.