Here's to being sweetly smacked upside the head

Lisa Sullivan
Jan 3, 2015
2 min read

2015 is going to be a wonderful year...

Each year, I come up with one word that is the essence of what I want to focus on during the upcoming year.

This year, I couldn't decide between "forgiveness" and "real." Forgiveness, because I feel the need to forgive myself, to not be so hard on myself. Yes, there are a few others I need to forgive (future blogs maybe?), but me mostly. But the word "real" kept popping in my mind. I wanted to truly focus on being authentic, on being real, on the real things that matter — just be me with no fear. After a few days of going back and forth, real is what I decided upon.

I really struggled, second guessing myself on the words. (Yep, geesh, Lisa, forgive yourself for being undecided and just be real.)

But a funny thing about how the universe sometimes smacks you upside the head... Three months ago, I signed up for James Twyman's daily music/meditation for "A Course in Miracles." James was offering a meditation-a-day, beginning January 1, that focused on the course. I like his "I am" meditation music so I thought "why not?" (Twenty years ago, I bought ACIM, but never open it and never read it. Gave it to goodwill 5 years ago.) So, I signed up and completely forgot about it. So, new year's day morning, I got James' first meditation. Before listening, I decided to look up ACIM to see what it was, since I never opened the book.

(here comes my smack) The authors mention that the essence of ACIM is: it teaches that the way to universal love and peace—or remembering God—is by undoing guilt through forgiving others. And the last lines in the introduction, right before the course starts: Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God. "Forgiving" and "Real" — wow. Thank you God and the universe, for the wonderful message and sweetly smacking me upside the head so I'll listen. Somehow, you directed me to the perfect words, no matter which one I chose.