As so often happens in life, the idea of forgiveness that I was being led to follow and share yesterday was “coincidentally” continued this morning through the book I am currently reading.  If you have not read Marianne Williamson’s “A Return to Love:  Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles,” it is worth your effort.  If more people in this world followed these principles, we would share a peaceful existence that would bless every one of us.

“To the ego, love is weakness.  To the Holy Spirit, love is strength.”

Marianne shares a story in which she had been hurt by someone.  To any one of us, she would have been justified to be very angry and react accordingly to the other individual in the situation.  Because she was practicing the principles taught by Helen Schucman and William Thetford in “A Course in Miracles,” she knew she would not get the results she wanted if she reacted the same way she had in similar past situations.  We all know that definition of insanity, right?

“I gave the situation to God and remembered that I need do nothing.”

Marianne doesn’t claim that this new found practice was easy.  But she does share that by working to release the situation to God and let Him handle it rather than react toward a brother in anger, she achieved the results that she desired.  What were those results?  They were not to allow that individual to continue in her life in the same context that he had been involved with her before – that would indeed be weakness.  But it was the ability to deal with the individual from a place of peace and love while at the same time disallowing him to be in her life in the way he had been previously.  She was able to hold her head high as she dealt with the situation from a place of love, which in the end demonstrated great strength that would never have been achieved had she lashed out in anger.  She was able to walk away from the situation in peace and contentment, which is all she really wanted in the first place.  Don’t we all?

“As long as I was not at peace, my behavior would carry the energy of my conflict.  Conflicted behavior cannot bring peace.  It can only produce more conflict.”

Marianne’s story is nothing compared to the conflicts that we are experiencing today, but the principles are the same.  We cannot eradicate evil with evil.  We cannot heal hurt by inflicting hurt, and we cannot heal anger with anger.  If this song did not make sense yesterday, I hope Marianne’s story will help shed light on it today.