ACIM Lesson 217 Contemplation

"It can be but my gratitude I earn," focuses on the idea that gratitude is a personal achievement rooted in our perception and attitude toward life’s experiences. This lesson underscores that gratitude arises not from external conditions, but from a conscious decision to recognize and appreciate the value and purpose of everything that occurs. It encourages us to cultivate a mindset of gratitude independently of our circumstances, thereby transforming our experience of life and aligning more closely with divine will.

All quoted material is from A Course in Miracles, copyright ©1992, 1999, 2007 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, publisher, and the copyright holder. This material is used with permission. (Foundation for Inner Peace, 448 Ignacio Blvd #306 Novato, CA 94949 US)

Transcript

A Course in Miracles Lesson 217 It can be but my gratitude I earn,

Who should give thanks for my salvation but myself?

How,

But through salvation,

Can I find the self to whom my thanks are due?

Still your mind,

Relax your body,

Prepare for meditation.

Give these times of silence to your higher self,

Your inner teacher.

Your inner teacher instructs in quiet.

Your inner teacher speaks of peace.

Our silence arises as we put aside all that we think we know.

Our silence arises as we put aside all that we think we understand.

This thought I do not want,

I choose instead.

It can be only my gratitude I earn.

I am not a body,

I am free.

I am still as God created me.

It can be but my gratitude I earn.

Ask yourself,

Who should give thanks for my salvation but myself?

If I attack,

I suffer.

But if I forgive,

Salvation will be given me.

Our higher self instructs in quiet.

Our higher self speaks of peace.

Ask yourself,

How,

But through salvation,

Can I find the self to whom my thanks are due?

Ask yourself,

Who should give thanks for my salvation but myself?

I am not a body,

I am free.

I am still as God created me.

It can be but my gratitude I earn.

Nothing real can be threatened.

Nothing unreal exists.

Herein lies the peace of God.