by Beverly McNeff
“You’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off!” We’ve all either heard or said this saying or felt like that poor chicken at one time or another. This old expression reminds us of people who claim they have so much to do that they can’t decide what to do first. So, they try to do everything simultaneously and accomplish nothing! Is that not our world, or what? Our lives seem so busy and complicated: work, financial issues, children, personal relationships, health concerns, politics, the environment, and the list goes on. What should we do first? There’s so much to do — can it all be done?
A Course in Miracles says,
“In any situation in which you are uncertain, the first thing to consider, very simply, is ‘What do I want to come of this? What is it for?’ The clarification of the goal belongs at the beginning, for it is this which will determine the outcome.” (T-17.VI.2:1)
Many of us try to figure out what to do in a situation before we understand what’s really going on or what we want to achieve. Therefore, we attempt to solve problems, but we never quite get the results we’re looking for. Comedian Rodney Dangerfield once joked, “My wife and I have separate bedrooms, we eat apart, we take separate vacations. We’re doing everything we can to keep our marriage together!”
We may laugh at this reasoning, but it is the reasoning of the world. Our ego does not want us to look at our goal or purpose in a situation. It wants us to look at all its contrived solutions, which have nothing to do with the problem or the real issue, and will certainly not help us achieve our goal.
“The ego does not know what it wants to come of the situation. It is aware of what it does not want, but only that. It has no positive goal at all.” (T-17.VI.2:7)
The ego does not want peace, for it only knows conflict; it does not know solutions, for it only knows problems. Therefore, the ego will always show you the opposite of peace, i.e., it will always show you the obstacles, the negative side of a situation, a future of failure based on the past, etc. But when you decide with the Holy Spirit, when you set your goal first, you define your purpose and can not only stick to it but can also make it happen.
“The value of deciding in advance what you want to happen is simply that you will perceive the situation as a means to make it happen. You will therefore make every effort to overlook what interferes with the accomplishment of your objective, and concentrate on everything that helps you meet it.” (T-17.VI.4:1)
In the days of sailing ships, two traveling shoe salesmen landed on a remote island. As they descended the boat, they saw that the natives were all barefoot. They both ran to the telegraph office, and one sent a message to his main office saying, “Coming home — Can’t sell shoes — No one wears them!” And the other sent this message, “Send more shoes — We’ll sell a million — No one has them!” One had decided his goal and saw everything as an opportunity; the other saw only the obstacles.
We must clarify our purpose in all our life situations if we ever hope to feel peace and direction. “What do I want to come of this? What is this for?” Allow the truth to come forth. Let your mind be open to God’s direction, step back, and let Him write His purpose in your heart and mind. Set your goal for peace in every situation of life and feel what it is like to decide with God.
“The peace of God is my one goal; the aim of all my living here, the end I seek, my purpose and my function and my life, while I abide where I am not at home.” (W-205)
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