Lesson 63: “The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.”

What is extraordinary about the Course’s teaching is that we are the cause of everyone’s salvation.  We have the power to bring peace and joy and give people exactly what they experience as the ideal life when we simply do our part.  We simply DO affect everyone we see.  We not simply can do this, we do do this without any question.  We can give everyone the path of true joy and lightness in their lives simply by showing up to make certain decisions.

We are the instruments of other people’s peace. 

And salvation is similarly considered something along the lines of peace.  We have the power to make miracles in the world.  All we have to do is our part which is the simple practice of forgiving.  We are called to do this one thing which- in terms of energy- is enough and will change the world and the experience of the inhabitants there.  We can simply show our hearts, and show our faces, to some way acknowledge that we are prepared to simply make the clear decision to forgive.  We don’t have to do anything or fight for any specific worldly cause.  It may or may not feel relevant to aid in the progressing of whatever cause.  This is important if we feel called by the Holy Spirit to show up and take part in the progression of that cause in our own unique way and to contribute in the way God shows us.   This may or may not be important to the mission of our specific life.  Accomplishing this holds no weight compared to the importance of forgiving.

What we want to do is prioritize forgiving.  We want to be adamant within our own minds that we don’t miss the chance to forgive no matter what this looks like.  We may do certain actions.  This is less consequential.  What is the only true important contribution we an make to what is happening is carrying within us and bringing forth our forgiveness.  When we bring the lightness of this act of love then the world’s drama gets a dose of perfect  kindness and gentle understanding.  No matter what the forgiveness looks like, if we think we didn’t do it perfectly, this doesn’t matter.  What we learn in the Course is that forgiveness heals all wounds.

When we bring the energy of forgiveness all of the world’s challenges take on a new meaning.  Nothing remains fixed to hold the crazy edge of the ego in times we are holding back forgiveness.  Everything that receives our forgiveness gets redone and undone.  All of the woes we think we face simply disappear because forgiveness is the assertion that we love and appreciate what God has brought for us.  Forgiveness gives us the courage to recall that the world is unreal and nothing has the power to hurt us.  Forgiveness is the way that we bring God’s light into the world.

The world seems to be molded with threatening shadows.  We always fear the difficulties we find there.  This is ok that we get frightened some times.  What we are invited to do is show up anyway and simply be present if we are too afraid to move forward.

Even if the world presents a frightening circumstance, we simply can bring forgiveness and face it all with a heart that is open and simultaneously self preserving when we show up with forgiveness. 

Forgiveness allows us to feel safe because we know we have this tool that always works to offer when the world offers what looks like a call for love.   We can walk in and offer forgiveness to what we see and know that we simply need to accept it and love it as it is.  This comfort and non-judgement about what we see gives us the strength to engage with it in what is the healthiest way for us to do when we come into its field of energy.