Although I am not a student of ACIM, I have spent enough time reading about it to understand many wise excerpts from it.
So far, my favorite sentence is: I can choose peace, or this.
These are words to live by.
They are a lantern illuminating the obscured fact that we actually have a say in how we feel in any given moment.
Magic Lotus flower
Many of us have been conditioned to constantly be at the mercy of external factors. We believed the fallacy that happiness can only come when the weather is ‘just right’ out there – work, prices, availability of goods, behavior of people, and government are all working in our favor. And if something is off kilter, sorrow is life and life is sorrow – we have no choice but to experience it until things change.
We have hoped that a powerful entity outside of us would extend a merciful hand. If not every day, maybe one day here and there. Or, we have learned to live with a consistently low vibration, somewhere between boredom and mild dread. We have no frame of reference to understand that This is not the way.
It has been a disempowering paradigm to live in for most people who remain unconscious.
Peace is an inside job. You cannot point to another individual and demand that they restore your peace. You cannot point to a corporation or government and demand that they restore your peace.
Well, you can. But you will hit a wall every time, and you will create even more of a disparity between you and Peace. Resistance begets resistance.
Many people have to reach rock bottom before they realize that peace is within reach. I personally didn’t hit bottom. I had simply experienced enough ‘meh’ days to finally say, “You know what? A lot of people seem to have it figured out – and I know a radiant countenance when I see one – and I daresay, I am going to investigate.”
There are many tools out there to help us release resistance and find peace. I would like to present that simple yet poignant excerpt from The Course as a lifeline for any time of day that you just can’t get out the crystals, yoga mat, acupuncturist, etc.
I can choose peace, or this.
Crossroads in the Karelian forest
Let this statement charge your spirit and point you in the right direction.
With Love,
Amethyst Mom