Lesson 64
Let me not forget my function.
Do you ever think your function in life is to finally complete your to-do list? Do you ever think your only function in life is to be a good mother, daughter, friend, brother, father, or colleague? Do you ever think your function is to find a decent mate to share your life with? Do you ever think your function is to figure out how to pay the credit card, loans, and bills? Do you ever think your function in life is to finally figure out your purpose, why you are here? Do you ever think your function is to just figure out how to make it through the day?
Those are all valid questions and explorations for living in this world. This world does a great job of reflecting to us that we have way too much to do, with not enough time, while at the same presenting to us that we are ever so far away from being good enough to even do it. It is a never-ending battle, truly. When one thing gets crossed off the to-do list, another is added. When we receive praise for a role we play in life, like mother, daughter, father, brother, friend or colleague, the next moment we are given a glimpse at how we could be doing better. We find the perfect mate then months later realize he or she isn’t so perfect for us. We get one bill paid to then have something else go wrong with the car and quickly another to-do and bill is added to the pile. We finally get our dream job but in two weeks realize it is the same old meaningless crap as before. And just when we figured out how to make it through one day, we go to sleep and wake up to another day to learn that what worked yesterday does not work today.
The world we are accustomed to viewing is one that tells us that we are always waiting on something. The Course ingeniously tells us,
“The purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of forgiveness, and provide you with a justification for forgetting it.”
If we place our function outside ourselves in the world we see, we will only get reflected back the madness of the world in the form of distractions, striving, and waiting. That is the every changing world for you. The world presents us with the carrot on a string and we are the rabbits chasing it. The world is the tail in which the cat chases. And in circles and circles we dizzily go.
It is the circle of never having enough and always being in lack: the right partner, the right job, enough money, friends, material goods, vacations, etc. Just look at all the marketing that is around you. The world is always trying to sell you something to then sell you something else once the first thing is purchased or bought into. The stop to this madness is YOU. The stop to this madness is Forgiveness. The stop to this seemly complex world is to simply choose Happiness.
“Complexity of form does not imply complexity of content. It is impossible that any decision on earth can have a content different from just this one simple choice. That is the only choice the Holy Spirit sees. Therefore it is the only choice there is (ACIM Lesson 64 5:7-10).”
It is so simple that that simplicity seems complex for the mind. Our mind is trained to make things hard, this is why the Course helps us to retrain our instrument of awakening. With all the shiny objects in the world it is easy to be as distracted as a squirrel. As students of the Course, we know how easy this is. Along our journey many lessons have asked us to remember the statement for the day and to repeat it once an hour (or more). How many of us have even forgotten the statement for day’s lesson an hour later? Maybe earlier? This is why for many lessons I have written the statement on an index card and carried it with me throughout the day. Or I have known others who have great apps on their phone that give them timely updates throughout the day. This is the importance of retraining the mind, to help us put our remembrance first, our function first.
The world with all it’s distractions beholds a great beauty for us. It is our playground of remembrance. It does not have to be a means of making us fall asleep, but once given to the Will of God has for Us, it can be used as a means of awakening. The world is the way in which we can witness our awakening. It is the heroic movie of the heroine’s (or hero’s) journey. By utilizing the world in our experience of remembrance, it becomes a wonderful place to be, where anything can happen at any moment.
For example, if your car breaks down and you are stranded on the side of the road, you can say “okay, let’s see how God show’s up in this one.” You are then in the perfect seat to witness how holiness unfolds and how things work out perfectly. Isn’t that better than being pissed off about it or repeating the mantra “of course this would happen to me?” You are now in a position to see how you are always taken care of. You are also able to witness, more openly, all options that are possible for you, not just the seeminly damning ones.
In these moments of distress we merely remember that we are Children of God. We cannot be harmed. We are still One with Source. We are not separate. This is our function. This is remembering we are the Light of the World.
Now, it does not mean that we do not take action in life and sit on the couch waiting for God to show up. Remember You are God. It means that we peacefully allow ourselves to be guided by the Will of God rather than playing the martyr. It means that we see the Divine Light in every person, place, and situation and patiently observe how we, as Gods, will show up in this particular instance. That is the wonderment of it all. And to me, this is the great joy of living, to be able to witness God in everything around me and watch how the tapestry is woven by all us Masters that inhabit the World of Remembrance. This is where we change from rabbits chasing carrots to rabbits exploring the rabbit hole of Truth.
So you see, remembering our function is key. It turns the nightmare of life into the happy awakening and all God wants for us is our happiness.
“Therefore, every time you choose whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really choosing whether or not to be happy (ACIM Lesson 64 4:4).”
It is that simple. Do you want to be happy or not? When you break it down to something that simple and ask yourself that exact question when your emotions are heightened, you will notice how often you do decide not to be happy. But there is always a bright side. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There is always Love present. It just comes down to if you want to choose it or not.
If you are not sold on choosing happiness or fulfilling your function as the Light of World, just look over your life. Has everything not turned out okay? Every disaster that has been presented to you, has it not shown you a gift in some way?
The Course asks you to claim your Christ-like maturity. Skip the anger, resentment, the playing small, the whining, the complaining, the suffering, and just choose happiness. Choose forgiveness. You are going to get there eventually, so why not spare yourself the darkness and head straight to the Light since that is what You are?
Life is always working our for your highest good and that of all those involved. The world continually presents everyone with the means in which to wake up. When we start to abide in the experience of the remembrance as it is in God’s Will then we no longer have to try to remember our function, nor write it down on index cards, we just live it. We just ARE IT.
That is beauty of today, it is allowing your function to become part of you in such a deep place within that no matter what distraction is thrown at you, you see it as integral and purposeful in your remembrance. Now that is a life worth living here on earth.
“To the Holy Spirit, the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think of as your sins. In this perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes the spiritual recognition of salvation (ACIM Lesson 64 2:3-4).”
Enjoy your playground of salvation today! Enjoy your only function! Notice how you are truly never alone and always comforted and loved by all the God’s playing around you, including yourself. Notice how the world always gives you the opportunity to be what you are, the Light of the World. Play On!
Namaste.