T-20.III.9. Prisoners bound with heavy chains for years, starved and emaciated, weak and exhausted, and with eyes so long cast down in darkness they remember not the light, do not leap up in joy the instant they are made free. 2 It takes a while for them to understand what freedom is. 3 You groped but feebly in the dust and found your brother’s hand, uncertain whether to let it go or to take hold on life so long forgotten. 4 Strengthen your hold and raise your eyes unto your strong companion, in whom the meaning of your freedom lies. 5 He seemed to be crucified beside you. 6 And yet his holiness remained untouched and perfect, and with him beside you, you shall this day enter with him to Paradise, and know the peace of God.
We have imprisoned ourselves within our own mind’s hallucinations for so long that it takes time to adjust to the truth. ACIM is so helpful in this adjustment process both in the Text which gives us a foundation for this new understanding, and in the Workbook as the daily lessons redirect our thinking without demanding more of us than we are able to give at this point.
I am reminded of the Ark story in the Old Testament. The animals went into the safety of the ark two by two. This is a metaphor for our passage back Home. We take our brothers hand and travel this path two by two. At first, it may seem doubtful that we can do this and even more doubtful our brother can do it. We look with the body’s eyes and we judge with the ego mind and find him wanting. But as we move forward in trust, we learn to see differently and his true visage becomes more apparent to us and we move forward in confidence.
Who is this mysterious brother with whom we walk? It is whoever is before us in the moment. There is no one special; each one we meet on our path home is equally God’s beloved Son and our brother seeking for the way home alongside of us. I will not allow myself to be distracted by the character they are playing in this particular story.
I will not let the sadness or even the awfulness of the story distract me from its perfection. Our chosen stories hold all we need to awaken. They do not reflect our truth, only the mistaken thoughts in the mind. Together we release those beliefs and with their passing the real world is revealed.
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