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Lesson 197: ”It can be but my gratitude I earn.”

Reframe: Gratitude is freely available, and I choose to receive it.

Suggested Practice:

From the Introduction to Lessons 181-200:

”Our next few lessons make a special point of firming up your willingness to make your weak commitment strong; your scattered goals blend into one intent. ²You are not asked for total dedication all the time as yet. ³But you are asked to practice now in order to attain the sense of peace such unified commitment will bestow, if only intermittently. … And so we start our journey beyond words by concentrating first on what impedes your progress still. …⁴So we now attempt to go past all defenses for a little while each day. ⁵No more than this is asked, because no more than this is needed. ⁶It will be enough to guarantee the rest will come.”

Do two 15-minutes practices today.

Ponder this as part of your practice:

“The world must thank you when you offer it release from your illusions. ²Yet your thanks belong to you as well, for its release can only mirror yours. ³Your gratitude is all your gifts require, that they be a lasting offering of a thankful heart, released from hell forever. ⁴Is it this you would undo by taking back your gifts, because they were not honored? ⁵It is you who honor them and give them fitting thanks, for it is you who have received the gifts.“ (ACIM, W-197.3:1-5)

”It does not matter if another thinks your gifts unworthy. ²In his mind there is a part that joins with yours in thanking you.³It does not matter if your gifts seem lost and ineffectual. ⁴They are received where they are given. ⁵In your gratitude are they accepted universally, and thankfully acknowledged by the Heart of God Himself.” (ACIM, W-197.4:1-5)

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Message

For me this Lesson was a struggle to grasp, mainly because of how it was written. It felt as confusing to me as most poetry and all of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. So for the practice period, I had to go past the words to get at any meaning, as suggested for this series of Lessons.

Here’s what came to me. Gratitude is intended as a two-way street. I am grateful for the gifts God has given me. And gratitude is extended to me by God when I embrace and practice the Course’s principles of forgiveness and salvation. Gratitude is also given to me by others in this world, whether they recognize my release from illusions or not.

While I understood the part about receiving gratitude from God and others, the new piece that cleared up for me was the idea of expressing gratitude toward myself. As if to say, “Thank you, Maureen, for deciding to do the Course this year and for being open to embrace peace, love, and joy.”

Bottom line: when I align with God’s gifts of peace, love, and joy, the world and God benefit from it—and for that, they express their gratitude to me. Gratitude, it turns out, is a three-fold exchange: God to me, others to me, and me to myself.

“Source has no opinions on whether I employ Its power or not.”
— “The Course in Miracles Experiment” by Pam Grout

Blessings & Peace,

Maureen,
The Mandala Lady

transforming soul whispers into mandalas & channeled messages
for clarity, peace, and joy

 About the 2026 Mandalas of the Day — ▶️ A Note About A Course in Miracles