Lesson 248
Whatever suffers is not part of me.
“Father, my ancient love for You returns, and lets me love Your Son again as well. Father, I am as You created me. Now is Your Love remembered, and my own. Now do I understand that they are one” (ACIM Lesson 248 2:1-4).
Suffering is an experience but not who we are. Suffering is an option on the playground of life but is not our Home. Suffering feels real and lasting but is transitory which makes it anything but the Truth we know. The angst we sometimes go through in human form is not our Real Self but rather a falsity we have become attached to. The enormity of it can feel like a strong undertow in a vast ocean, however the key is to remember that we are the ocean, thus, enabling us to witness this momentum and fall into its grace.
It is not to say that on a spiritual journey you will not feel suffering or pain. Nor does it mean that if you feel those things you are somehow failing your higher calling. As spiritual beings in human form, we may certainly feel suffering and pain but we do not have to identify with it. We can actually find joy in it. We can be curious as to what it is teaching us. We can be more interested in how suffering can lead us to Truth rather than allowing it to lure us into its false masquerade.
I have a dear friend who is living with muscular dystrophy. Upon talking with her about her journey, she has mentioned a certain sweet spot that has come with her condition. She enlightens me on how the suffering she has felt through muscular dystrophy has led her to a sentient spot where life and death meet. A place that is so peaceful that it fills her with a sense of knowing. She knows this condition is her teacher and although there are times when it is tough to remember that, she is grateful that her suffering has led her to a place that she may not have encountered otherwise. This experience is not special to those with degenerative conditions, she proclaims, it is place we are all led to by feeling into our suffering. Suffering may not be a part of who we are, but it can be used to lead us back to Who we are, as my friend insightfully shares.
Suffering is not the whole but can lead us back to such a place as we question the validity of our experience. When engaging in a sense of suffering, can you observe it? Feel into it? Ask it what it wants to teach you? Ultimately and intimately, can you love it? Suffering is not part of you but can be one of the greatest teachers leading you back to You, guiding you towards loving and respecting such a thread of life that does not harm us but alerts us to the Remembrance. Let not suffering deceive you but lead you to Truth. Let go of any resistance and fall into the ocean of love that you are. Namaste.
