School’s Out! ... Or Is It?

I can still remember the smell of suntan lotion, the slightly frigid lake water and the feel of warm sand beneath my feet that would beckon me during those last few days of the school year. The teachers called it Spring Fever. It was June, the month of freedom. “No more lessons, no more books, no more teacher’s…,” ...well you know the rest.

I looked forward to that last day of school each year. I could hardly wait to toss the books and head to the beach. The summer days would be glorious and the feeling of freedom unmatched. And then, it would happen. One morning I would wake up, my friends would be on vacation, the storm clouds would dampen my plans for the beach and suddenly I would feel bored. Before long I would be eyeing the school supply section at the local drug store.

Well, it’s June and school will be out soon but I wonder, is school ever really out? According to Shakespeare “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players...,” but I believe all the world’s a school and we are all students of Truth in it. The goal is to graduate as a perfect expression of Spirit and all of life is the ongoing curriculum.

I love this school because it means that every experience, every challenge, every difficulty, is another opportunity to grow. In this school, memorization is not as important as remembering who we really are. There is no failure, only opportunities. If I find myself falling short of my goal I know there is yet another opportunity on its way. The curriculum is designed to grow with me so I can move beyond the need for challenging experiences and learn direct from Spirit.

If your soul needs to go through certain experiences to gain the knowledge of experience, you will have to learn by experience. However, if you are ready and willing to learn from the Spirit of Truth direct, you will not need to go the thorny way of experience; instead your way will be made easy, plain, joyous, successful by following the Divine light within. ~ Myrtle Fillmore, letter 1930 - Unity Archives

I need never feel bored in the school of life. There is always something new unfolding, always a new layer of self being peeled away to reveal a deeper Truth. All creation supports me in my endeavors to grow, continually tutoring me in the ways of Spirit. God shows up in the tiniest of creatures, the greatest of natural wonders and through every relationship and experience with an eternal message of love, abundance and harmony.

In this school, grades are levels or states of consciousness and movement through them is multidirectional. Rather than always moving to a higher grade, we tend to move back and forth expanding to a higher level and sometimes contracting to a less than peaceful one. As we take time to study, ourselves our ability to move to the desired state of consciousness becomes stronger. We begin to recognize the lessons and make a choice to opt out of repeating an undesirable experience.

And best of all, when the lesson seems too hard or the curriculum too deep, I can choose at any moment to take a mental vacation. I don’t have to wait for June to roll around to toss the books and papers. I don’t have to wait until June to feel a sense of freedom. Every day I can turn within and rest in the still, sweet presence of Being and know that I AM Free.

In Peace, Light & Freedom,

Rev. Eileen