I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
Luckily, we only stay on these lessons one day at a time, because Lesson 11, 12 & 13 put me at the bottom of the pit. Thankfully we move on to greener pastures.
You’ll probably be asking yourself: what the hell is the purpose of any of this if it’s all meaningless??
exactly.
Most everyone knows from a very early age that something is fundamentally wrong with this world, and you’ll notice no one has any answers to the meaning of it all: death, divorce, war, abuse, starvation and sickness.
What’s the meaning?
Little kids question it – from a whole mind perspective – and no one can give an honest answer that makes any sense.
Most adults say: That’s life.
That’s life? People die and that’s life? People kill other people and that’s life? People stop loving each other and that’s life? People abuse children and that’s life? People are starving and that’s life?
Something is fundamentally wrong with this picture.
Then the solution – in human terms – is you have to learn to fend for yourself. They call this life. Each for his own. Be a good person. Study hard. Get a job and make money because you’ll need a place to live, and you’ll need food and if you don’t take care of yourself, who will?
Maybe if you are lucky (or charming or pretty) someone will take care of you, but don’t count on it. Things change.
“Life is unpredictable,” people say.
In between there will be moments of joy. And these are the moments we live for – the acts of kindness, the moments of pure bliss. A love letter. Getting together for coffee with a friend. A good movie. A good meal. A beautiful gift. A sunset. A walk on the beach. A pet. A newborn baby. A wedding.
Just hopefully you don’t get sick, and let’s pray that a tornado or fires don’t destroy your house. Let’s hope no one gets in an accident. Let’s hope the economy stays strong so you can keep your job, and keep the whole house of cards in place.
The solution is appearances, appearances, appearances. Be a good employee. Be a good wife/husband. Say the right things. Look nice. Be nice. Don’t upset the balance. Have car insurance, health insurance, and house insurance.
Insure yourself for when things go wrong, as they always do.
And we call this …. life.
???????????????????
Somewhere – probably already – you have come to the conclusion that this isn’t life.
These lessons are important because otherwise you might get stuck trying to make the world a nice place. A lot of people want to do good in the world, not realizing it is meaningless. This is a major step.
Once you realize the world is meaningless, you will stop trying to fix it.
It’s not fixable because it’s not real.
But YOU are real, and there is meaning, just not here in the world.
You will stop trying to solve other people’s problems because you will realize you are the only one with the problem.
You will stop correcting people.
You will stop judging.
You will stop defending yourself.
You will stop trying to make yourself comfortable by inappropriate means, such as money and pills and food and television.
You will begin aligning your mind with God.
You will become more present, alert, and aware.
Your eyes begin to open, and you will see something brand new.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
Please take time today to do this lesson today.
Here is a little something from Chapter 15, The Holy Instant:
“Can you imagine what it means to have no cares, no worries, no anxieties, but merely to be perfectly calm and quiet all the time? Yet this is what time is for; to learn just that and nothing more. God’s Teacher cannot be satisfied with His teaching until it constitutes all your learning. He has not fulfilled His teaching function until you have become such a consistent learner that you learn only of Him. When this has happened, you will no longer need a teacher or time in which to learn.”
“One source of perceived discouragement from which you may suffer is your belief that this takes time, and that the results of the Holy Spirit’s teaching are far in the future.”
I love this. It is a reminder that all we are searching for is here today. The miracle happens today. You can see everything clearly today.
How is this accomplished quickly?
Willingly and gladly give over all your plans, in exchange for God’s Plan.
This is the fast track.
“The reason this course is simple is that truth is simple.”
To hear today’s lesson, click here: ACIM Lesson 12 with Lisa Natoli
Facebook comments:
hey,
wait a minute sistah. did you say no comfy cozy with the tv?
take my cookies and wine, just don’t be messin with my tv. what if i couldn’t see steve boudain from the travel channel or tyler from food 911!? it’s all so very meaningful you know.
Lee
This post is amazing!
We all need to Let Go and Let God!
Hi Lisa,
Does this mean we should not watch TV, listen to the radio, read the newspaper?
I wand to Let Go and Let God and make Him a priority in my life. How about reading regular books like “A Thousand Splendid Suns?”
Does letting all of the above things go make me closer to God? We talked in Al-Anon about Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God.
Many people agreed that their way sucks and asked the questiion, “And how is that working for you!” We all agreed that our lives are not the way we want them to be.
You are right…it is a meaningless world. Just what do we need to eliminate from “this crazy illlusion of a world?” Notice I did not say sacrifice!
love,
Carol
We eliminate our attachment to the world. TV itself isn’t bad (or good), but you know when and if you are using it to sedate and zone out.
My commitment has been to move thru fear.. I came home one day and opened the front door and held it open and said” do you want to go outside?” Zoom, my cat, who had been house- bound for the last 6 years tentatively walked to the end of the hall and peered outside. Looking around and smelling the air, she just walked out into the driveway. I did not know why after so long I had let her out, something you said Lisa about your cats maybe was the trigger. It just felt right. Well in the back yard she lived up to her name” Zoom” and she was zooming alright. She is so happy to be free to come and go again. I was sharing at a meeting and I saw that I not only did not know why I let my 14 yr old cat outside, I did not know why I had kept her in for so long. She had always been and outside cat. As I shared , I said with tears streaming down my face that when she came to live with me we/Ihad just lost everything, the marriage, the house, the friends, the furniture, the income I had lived on that wasn’t mine, another ‘ bottom’. As I shared I said that I could not stand another loss, so when I got Zoom, I kept her safe inside, so I would not have to live with, here it comes, the fear of losing her. She was all that mattered to me. I never saw that before… my fear had kept her a prisoner. We are both a little bit closer to being free and I thank God that I trusted the feeling without having ” to know ” why I was taking this risk and letting her out… God rocks! Love Jayme
Lisa this speaks volumes to my soul. I’m on day 12. But all those questions and fears. I NEED Money to live. I don’t believe God wants me to be homeless and desperate. Or am I wrong? Should I just trust that God doesn’t want that for me? Or maybe he does but then if that is the case I’ll have to ignore his calling. Because I’ve been there and it was horrible, scary stuff. Worse than having to go to a boring job every day so I could pay for “security”. Besides what about my kids? Isn’t it my responsibility to provide for them well at least till they can provide for them selves?
By the way I love the way you teach .