Day 134: Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.

As A Course in Miracles tells us, forgiveness is our sole function in this world.  It therefore follows that we should have a clear grasp of what forgiveness is.  Today's lesson further explains this concept to us.  As long as we perceive sin as real, we will not know how to forgive.  As Children of God, we are all sinless.  Anything we perceive as such is an illusion, and therefore nonexistent.  Yet if we perceive sin as true, then forgiveness would seem a denial of truth.  The Course clarifies what True Forgiveness entails:

Forgiveness is the only thing that stands for truth in the illusions of the world.  It sees their nothingness, and looks straight through the thousand forms in which they may appear.  It looks on lies, but it is not deceived.  It does not heed the self-accusing shrieks of sinners mad with guilt.  It looks on them with quiet eyes, and merely says to them, "My brother, what you think is not the truth."

Forgiveness does not mean we must excuse the dark images we have made.  Forgiveness is not saying, "It's okay."  Is it okay that there is genocide in Africa?  Was the Holocaust "okay?"  Was 911?  Absolutely not.  Forgiveness is looking past these dark illusions and recognizing that they are not Real.  In so doing we dispel of these grim nightmares and pave the road to a brighter world where history no longer repeats itself.  What is Real is the Truth beyond, the Truth we had forgotten, the Truth hidden beneath the shadows of our world.  The Truth is that we are All One.

Along these lines, the Course tells us, "When you feel that you are tempted to accuse someone of sin in any form, do not allow your mind to dwell on what you think he did, for that is self-deception.  Ask instead, 'Would I accuse myself of doing this?'"  This question is a gentle reminder that we are One, for when we accuse another, we are really accusing ourselves.

As I meditated upon today's lesson, I thought of all the people who are imprisoned behind bars.  Many of them certainly have committed heinous crimes, so what is the solution?  How do we forgive them?  What came to me was this:

How can we expect anyone to rise above their errors if we continue to persecute them for what they did, if we continue to see them for their crime instead of the Child of God they are?

This arose more questions for me.  Does this mean we shouldn't detain people in prisons?  Does this mean we shouldn't have laws by which we govern ourselves?  In an ideal world, we wouldn't need prisons nor laws.  But at our current stage of development, it seems to be a ridiculous notion to do away with them.

As a teaching artist for theatre programs conducted in under-served communities, including prisons, I regard such places as "correctional facilities" - a term many use themselves.  This, to me, is precisely what all prisons should be.  Those who commit crimes have merely forgotten Who They Really Are, and only by reminding them will the error in their minds be corrected.  Heal the mind, and you shall heal the rest.  If this was the approach taken to all laws broken, there would soon be no need for laws.  Once every one of us recognizes and understands with unwavering certainty that we are all connected, that we together are all God's Only Begotten Son, the temptation to commit any crime would vanish.

In order to reach such a harmonious state of being, we must continue to forgive one another for the dark illusions we have made.  This is a weighty task the Course asks of us, but it is a necessary one if we are ever to find eternal peace on this planet.  The power exists in us all.  Let us ask God for His Guiding Hand, and we shall be led along the path to See the Truth, even amidst the darkest of shadows we may encounter.

Let us perceive forgiveness as it is.

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman