Remember and Be Thankful

What comes into being in the Father is knowledge, which appeared so that forgetfulness might be dissolved and the Father might be known.  Forgetfulness comes into being because the Father was not known, so when the Father comes to be known, forgetfulness, from that time on, will not exist.  - The Gospel of Truth(1) 

Forgetfulness is common human experience.  It is sometimes caused by an organic brain issue such as Alzheimer's or other form of dementia.  Far more common, however, is intentional and unintentional forgetfulness.  

Intentional forgetfulness is that which is purposely used as an excuse for not following through on one's word and commitments. It is the type of the classic young child who one moment says, "Yes, I will clean my room."  Then, when confronted at day's end by a parent for the room still being messy the child says, "I forgot." 

Unintentional forgetfulness is that which occurs when we aren't being mindful; we simply aren't paying attention to what is happening.  Anyone who has parked their car absent-mindedly while trying to talk on the phone and write down a last minute item they need in the store and then come out and can't remember where they parked knows about unintentional forgetfulness.  

When our awareness steps into the Light of God's intimate connection with our soul, that knowledge is not easily abandoned. We can never again say that we haven't known God.  But, then, one or both types of forgetfulness may set in.  We find our "old life" too difficult to give up and so we pretend to be forgetting about God so we can retain all our old habits that are like a pair of falling apart old comfy slippers.   Or we may just get pushed and pulled from so much life busy-ness we just forget - lose our mindfulness.   

In rituals of Communion we are called upon to remember.  "As often as you eat this bread or drink from this cup, remember me."  Remembering is key to finding the Home in which we belong.  When we forget how much God loves us and actively wants us "home," the result is often a gathering dark cloud of being displaced or disconnected.  We become separated from our gifts, talents, and feel disconnected from ourselves.  Depression, anger, and anxiety often creep in.  Frequently, when we have gotten lured by external success, by society, culture, friends, even family into being who they want us to be rather than who God intends us to be, we may find we deeply miss "who we are." The way back to our true home is through remembering, reclaiming the home of many rooms where we are unconditionally accepted just for who we were originally crafted by God to be. Any of the 8 tools in prior posts can help to provide links to this reconnection of remembering.  Finding a good therapist who can supply an accurate mirror to see yourself as God sees you may help immensely as well. Most importantly, remember God and be thankful for you.

(1) "The Gospel of Truth" from The New New Testament: A Bible for the 21st Century Combining Traditional and Newly Discovered Texts, edited by Hal Taussig, c. 2013, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co., New York, NY.