A Course in Miracles Lesson #220 (review)
“I am not a body. I am free,
For I am still as God created me.”
Specific review: (#200) “There is no peace except the peace of God.”
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| "Buzzards in Eureka Spring" photo by Marsha Havens |
In reading and pondering the above words, my mind turns to events in the past where I had the choice of either living peace or doing what I thought would defend my "cause". A few years ago, I became embroiled in a controversy concerning turkey vultures roosting in our wooded town. Mosts of them were congregated in our neighborhood, in a hollow between two residential streets. Some of my neighbors were convinced that the birds were dangerous and needed to go away. Through their efforts, sonic cannons were going to be fired with the hope of sending the birds somewhere else. At this point in my life, I try not to have strong opinions about anything. But for some reason, I chose to jump up on my high-horse and start gathering signatures on a petition to stop the cannons. Eventually the whole neighborhood was up in arms over this and most of them were not speaking to me. At a particularly hostile point, the realization came that I had made the wrong choice. I had not chosen the peace of God, but my own self-righteous reasoning, and no one was the better for it. The vulture known as buzzard is called the "peace eagle" by the Cherokee people. It is named this because it's the only bird which does not kill. And so I quietly backed away from the situation. This doesn't mean that I stopped being an advocate for the birds, but I did change my actions. From an approach which was mainly on the material plane, rabble-rousing and trying to change things, I shifted to quietly seeing the Truth of everyone and everything in the situation, knowing that we are all reflections of divine Love. By affirming that divine order is ever-present and that I didn't need to do anything other than allow that order to guide my thoughts, any sense of personal responsibility was released. If you're wondering what happened, they did shoot off the sonic cannons, the birds left temporarily, and within a short time they came back. Everyone is speaking to each other again, and we seem to be closer than ever for the conflict. Isn't it wonderful that we can always choose again!!
Mary Baker Eddy quotes:
“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.”
Science & Health Page 261:4-7
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