The Lesson Plan of Love
This week, I heard two great quotes that really spoke to me, so I felt inspired to share them here. Rev. Ken Wilcox from the Center for Spiritual Living in St. Augustine said the first one. It’s not a new concept, but I love the way he concisely expressed the essence of what I believe and teach.
“Life is not a courtroom. It is a classroom.”
So many faith traditions think of Spirit/God/Universe as a judge in the sky, watching us and judging whether or not our behavior is good, and thus worthy of love and blessings. When I think of life as a courtroom, not only do I feel I am constantly being judged, but it sets me up to continually judge others. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps me feeling miserable or righteous, but never at peace.
I prefer to see life as a classroom because it is always teaching me lessons. Continuing the school metaphor, I think of Spirit/God/Universe as a Guidance Counselor who helps me make choices from love instead of fear. According to A Course in Miracles, love and fear are really the only two choices. And learning to choose love more consistently is the only lesson plan.
When I look back on my life and recall the decisions I made from fear, I see that things never worked out well. In fact, my circumstances got a lot worse. However, when I make decisions from love, things flow much better. Events and opportunities fall into place in ways I could never have predicted or planned. There are times when it feels difficult or uncomfortable at first, but when I come from love, my experience is ultimately one of peace and joy.
This brings me to the second quote I heard on Monday when my beloved soul sister, Ali Benjamin, interviewed Sheila and Marcus Gillette on her weekly YouTube show. The show is called “Growing Edge Live” on the New Thought Media Network if you’d like to check it out. Watch with an open mind and heart, because the source of the message may go past your comfort zone. I love both the message and the messenger, and this quote resonated with me deeply.
“Fear and faith ask the same thing of you…to believe in something that is yet unseen.”
There are rare exceptions, but for the most part, we are only fearful of what might happen in the future. Things that have not happened yet and may never happen. So why give energy to an outcome we do not desire? If fear and faith both ask us to believe in something yet unseen, why not give energy to what we do desire? Even in the most challenging times, we can have faith that a way forward will be revealed. That’s when I consult my Guidance Counselor!
If you would like some help in shifting from fear to faith, I would be honored to be your Guidance Counselor with a series of Spiritual Coaching Sessions or a one-on-one Family Constellations Session. Thanks to technology, both can be done online from anywhere in the world. Please look around my website for more information or to book a session. I look forward to being in the classroom with you!
Until next time, may love be your guide in all of your decisions.
Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn presented once again, so where you made a faulty choice before you now can make a better one, and thus escape all pain that what you chose before has brought to you.
A Course in Miracles ~ T-31.VIII.3:1