Typing the title of this article reminds me of the Michael Jackson song (it’s actually playing in my head as I write, sans the music video with Lisa Marie Presley). After almost a year of doing the lessons in A Course in Miracles, the reality that I am not alone is one of the biggest lessons that I have learned. After my father passed away, I went through a long period of feeling very alone. Regardless of how many people were actually in my life at the time, I felt completely disconnected from everyone and everything.
A Course in Miracles teaches that we are never alone. The reality is that the sense of oneness, of being disconnected is an illusion of the ego. We are, always have been and always will be connected to something greater than ourselves. While we may not acknowledge a connection to God, nature or the billions of people that walk the earth, we are indeed all connected.
Acknowledge of our connection to things outside of ourselves involves a paradigm shift. There is so much focus on individuality that very few are aware of the interconnectedness of the world. I find it interesting that it is during times of tragedy that we seem to remember to feel compassion for others that we share the earth with. When the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan happened, the world rallied around in concern for their fellow citizens, doing whatever they could to help. The power of compassion is something that should not ever be underestimated.
When we realize that we are not alone and that we are part of something bigger, it really changes the way you look at life, at least it did for me. After years of feeling like no one really understood what I was going through and that no one really cared about me, I stopped playing the victim and realized that in this life, I have one chance to make it the best life possible. For me, that meant looking beyond my own circumstances and looking at the bigger picture. While I was grieving the loss of my father, the fact of the matter was I had a job, a roof over my head, good health and food to eat. My problems, as dire as I once believed them to be, could have been a lot worse. I have learned to stop feeling sorry for myself and embrace gratitude for all of the good things that have happened and are happening in my life.
While I went through a dark period of my life when I felt that no one loved me or cared about me, I now know that this is not the truth. I know that I am a loved, lovable, loving child of God; and I will do my best never to forget that I am connected to all things at all times. There may be times in my life where I may be physically alone; I am never truly by myself. I know now that God is with me at all times, and that those who walk the earth with me are also God’s children. Understanding that I am a part of something bigger than me has allowed me to feel compassion in a way I hadn’t felt it before.
I feel like my sense of empathy has grown a lot in the last few years. I don’t need to know someone personally to feel empathy for their situation and the one thing that I want to tell anyone feeling sad, depressed and alone is that they don’t have to feel that way. It is my hope and dream that I can help others rediscover their connection to God and everything else surrounding them. It reminds me of the last part of Footprints:
“My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you.”
It is my wish that we never forget in our time of need that we are never alone. ♥
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