This world is quite a bleak place and has been so, ever since March 2020. As we see our liberty, our family and friends, the things we have become accustomed to doing, taken away from us in one fell swoop, the result can be depression, anxiety or a feeling of hopelessness. Here we are in 2021 and the situation doesn’t seem to be much better. There seems to be no end in sight to the nightmare that we find ourselves in. Things may gradually improve. They may take longer than we wish to improve, or they may not improve for a very long while.

But I am reading a very uplifting book at present: “A Year of Forgiveness: A Course in Miracles Lessons with Commentary from Jesus,” by Tina Louise Spalding. In the Kindle edition of this book (37% from the beginning), Review III, Part 1, we are given very good advice. Jesus warns us about not focusing on what he calls, “the shadows,” i.e. darkness. He says, “…When you watch the news all the time, looking at destruction, starvation and the environmental degradation, you are looking at the shadows…You feel weak, uninvigorated, and uninspired when you look at the shadows…” That’s exactly what watching the news on television can do to us, as the figures of numbers of deaths or infections are mentioned almost every day, around the clock. So much so, that I can’t watch the news anymore. I choose instead to watch nature programmes, comedies or inspiring films and documentaries.

Jesus continues in that book with these recommendations: “You need to look at that which is light—people cooperating with each other, beautiful art, beautiful music, communities, gardeners who vibrantly supply each other with food—that which is love…Your vision aligns with what works—that which is healed and happy.”

Such good advice. In fact, it is a joy to read this book, which seems to bring the lessons of A Course in Miracles to life, as Jesus adds a daily commentary to all 365 lessons in the Workbook. I should add that I feel healed and happy when I follow the advice above, such as when I am painting, or walking in the countryside, birdwatching, listening to peaceful music, watching the spring flowers burst through the soil, etc. It really is a matter of focusing on what we love and trying, as best we can, to turn away from all the darkness of the world. Most of the mainstream media will simply suck us into the darkness. For those who are striving to reach the Light, that’s the last thing we need.