Lesson 25
I do not know what anything is for.
How much of our life do we try to figure out what something means? How it fits into our life? What the purpose is? These questions alone are usually the basis for most characters on tv as they play out our tendency to analyze our life as to finally figure it all out; our existence and all the things we come in contact with.
Some examples would be, Sex and The City as Carrie tries to figure out what it meant when Big sent her flowers for her birthday after they broke up. Does he want to get back together? Does he miss her?; Lorelai on Gilmore Girls as she dissects her relationship with Luke; And Ted on How I Met Your Mother as he tries to figure out of how life is playing out to meet his soul mate. Even quirky British Man of Mystery, Austin Powers, ponders, “What does this all mean Basil?”
This is often our plea to God as we search for meaning in life, in particular in our relationships. What does it mean if calls? If he doesn’t call? If she touches my hand? If she hugs me? If we go away this weekend? If she likes olives like I do? All luring questions that we contemplate with ourselves, family, and friends as we try to figure out this one piece of the puzzle so that maybe with this one answer the entire puzzle of life will be figured out.
If I had a buzzer right now, I would sound it. As long as we keep searching for meaning in meaningless goals that the ego sets we will continue to find disappointment and emptiness and will truly never figure “it” out. Because really there is nothing to figure out. This is tough for the ego to believe and the world will definitely reflect something different, thus that is why we start small today with our six practice periods. Let us simply get used to the idea.
“You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego goals. These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests, because the ego is not you. This false identity makes you incapable of understanding what anything is for (ACIM Lesson 25 2:1-3).”
When I did my first practice period, the first thing my eyes landed upon was my reflection in the mirror, to which I stated
“I do not know what I am for.”
It was a beautiful way to start the lesson. Sure, I can say I am here to love, be loved, and extend love. But if I am really honest, when I look in the mirror and I say “I do not know what I am for,” there is a true moment of reckoning with those thoughts that I believe I am here to extend love this way or that way. That I am here to extend love as a writer or speaker. That I am here to be a loving wife to my partner. That I am here to be a daughter to a mother who loves me. Those are titles and roles that I may use in life but still truly not what I am for.
I can at best put a positive spin on what I am for, but to say with my small mind that I could ever imagine what I am truly for would be rather misinformed. Let us take for example a person who is about to transition. It often said that someone on the edge of leaving this world to the next says, “This journey of life is so perfect. I could not have planned out my life any better yet it was grander than I could have ever hoped for.” There is much wisdom and truth in this statement as there is in our lesson for today. There is no need to try to figure out something that is bigger than our own imagination. That takes us out of enjoying the process. Today offers us the possibility of letting go of our suffering through the math problems of life and live in the happiness of the unfolding journey.
Today is more about exercising faith. Do you feel as though you know better than the Creator how your life should go? Do you feel She will get it wrong? Do you feel She doesn’t have your highest good in mind? This lesson puts to test our belief that we often think that God is high in the sky looking down at all of us under a magnifying lens, enjoying our misfortune, watching us squirm, and inevitably burning us at the stake. Yes, today asks you to reflect a little, yet so subtly, on the God you believe in. It is a thought that does need contemplation and one we will delve into more as we continue our Walk in Miracles together.
But for today, our miracle is to shift from a “I know best” mentality to one where we rest in letting go of figuring it out as we trust that everything is for our highest good. All that we see, experience, come in contact with, even tested with, are here for our greatest good and for all those involved.
“Everything is for your own best interests. That is what it is for; that is its purpose; what is what it means (ACIM Lesson 25 1:5-6).”
Take that one statement, write it on a notecard (or several), and post it in significant places like your dashboard, refrigerator, or bedside table. Imagine how much questioning and second guessing you do in a day. Imagine how much less you would do if you knew regardless of any decision or outcome, everything is always working for your best interest. If everyone knew this, imagine how much less noise there would be in the world from less talking. Imagine how much more energy you would have if you didn’t dedicate so much of it to never-ending cycle of “figuring it out.”
What a gem of a day it is! We sit in our unknowing to allow ourselves to fully be Known. This dichotomy is so perfect in it’s experience. Feel the relief that you do not have to effort to figure anything out. That you can come to rest in the Comforter, as you are fully taken care of in the perfection of existence. This is True Understanding.
Namaste.