I. The Two Uses of Time, P 13
13 How long is an instant? It is as short for your brother as it is for you. Practice giving this blessed instant of freedom to all who are enslaved by time, and thus make time their friend for them. The Holy Spirit gives their blessed instant to you through your giving it. As you give it, He offers it to you. Be not unwilling to give what you would receive of Him, for you join with Him in giving. In the crystal cleanness of the release you give is your instantaneous escape from guilt. You must be holy if you offer holiness.
Journal
Clearly, the way to happiness and to freedom is to give love and forgiveness every chance we have. If someone says or does something unkind, I can defend myself and join them in a hell of our own making, or I can forgive the entire idea and see them as temporarily confused but unharmed by that confusion. They remain in my mind the holy being they always have been and always will be.
There was a time that this was just a concept I wanted to believe. I did understand why it was true but I wanted to feel that way about everyone. It never quite made it from my head to my heart. In the journey, it got tangled up and turned into something else. I would feel like a victim being trampled because it wasn’t spiritual for me to defend myself, and mostly, I just felt resentful.
Things have shifted since then. For the most part, the distance from head to heart has shortened and is usually almost instantaneous. When I slip into the old way of thinking, I don’t stay there long. I want everyone to be innocent. I want to see the true brilliance of every brother. I am happy to see that they are not affected by their temporary insanity and neither am I.
How long does this take? An instant, maybe. And if it takes longer, I know that each time I choose to see what is real about my brother, I shorten the time it takes and I do this for us all. Here is something that I know Jesus said this was going to happen, but it was still something of a surprise; I love myself more now. I believe in myself, and I believe in my innocence much more than I did before. It seems that it is true, as I forgive my brother, I forgive myself. As I free my brother, I free myself.
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