Miracles News

January-March, 2006

Choose Joy

by Rev. Maria Kingsley

Can you think of a better way to spend a day than to be in joy? Joy overcomes all heavy thoughts, all worries and all fears. It is very easy for me to choose joy because I like to be in joy. Joy is an attribute of our loving nature, and when I allow joy to spread through me it elevates my entire being. I cannot, really, at the same time be fearful and be in joy, or be worried and be joyous, or even experience pain at the same time as joy.

Joy is, as mentioned in the Teachers Manual (M-4.V), “the inevitable result of gentleness. Gentleness means that fear is now impossible, and what could come to interfere with joy? The open hands of gentleness are always filled.” (M-4.V1-3).

I have found that I forget about joy when I am not in the Now, when I worry about the future or other people’s opinion about me.

I was helping a friend recently with a very frustrating problem, as he perceived it. He was not in a good mood and kept stating how bad he was and how worried about what he had become, etc. I could see how it pulled him down and only made him feel worse. In part I felt that he said these things to be comforted and expected to be told that he was wrong. I also saw that, as he hoped he was wrong, he acted very much as if he had entered his worst nightmare.

The Course tells us that we are perfect creations of God, and I believe that is so. I also experience daily how the ego tries to convince me that I am inferior or lacking in many ways. So, I know very well how the ego works in me, and I know that it is very clever and cunning. It takes a lot of awareness on my part to even recognize what is of the ego and what is not. Fortunately, the Course helps me how to deal with the ego once I have identified my ego thoughts: I give it no value and see the ego and this world as an illusion that separates me from God. Its purpose is to separate, and it is my choice to continue to accept it or to choose God. That is not always so easy — even though it gets easier with practice. However, we ‘love’ those things that we identify with as ‘me,’ ‘mine,’ ‘my image’ and ‘my reputation,’ ‘my body,’ etc. We want to ‘look good’ and be seen as ‘successful’ or ‘smart,’ or whatever we value. We have created an image of ourselves that is not in line with our true Identity. Yet, we think that is ‘who we are,’ and since we worked to shape ourselves and what we think is our image in the world, we don’t want to let go of this just yet. I certainly have not succeeded in this fully.

To return to my friend’s nightmare, I tried to help him find a more positive way to look at himself as well as his problem. He was a beginning ACIM student, so he was open to another approach and a better way.

But there was a point where I allowed myself to be pulled into the apparently difficult situations, and I did not like the feeling of this chaos. When I don’t like things I quickly look for an escape, and so my thoughts went towards other things I could have been doing, and how all this confusion was holding me up. I had many things on my schedule, and I felt some pressure to make the next meeting.

Then I remembered that morning I had decided to choose joy. I realized I was far from a joyful state, and so I repeated to myself silently that I wanted to return to joy. Surprisingly or not, the entire scene changed. I let go of my worries of future engagements and put it all into the Creator’s hands. I was able to refocus myself and expected things to be in perfect order. And sure enough, the problem resolved itself happily and easily. It truly was a miracle. It turned out to be ‘nothing.’

It was so obvious to me that we could have gone down the road of worst case scenario, spent lots of money to resolve the crisis, he could have gotten sick, for he was heading that way, and all his fears about who he thought he was could have been confirmed. Instead, it became a chance to be very grateful and to let joy fill us.

“Joy goes with gentleness as surely as grief attends attack. ...And they are sure His Teacher goes before them, making sure no harm can come to them” (M-4.V.8,10).

“My brother, peace and joy I offer you, That I may have God’s peace and joy as mine.” (W-p1.105.7:2)

Rev. Maria Kingsley is a Pathways of Light minister who lives in Taos, New Mexico Read more of her inspiring Healing Journal articles on the Pathways of Light web site.

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