CHAPTER 1

1To choose love is to begin again.

Clearly, our human family is in distress. Yet because of this, it is also moreopen to change. Today I join with countless others in a renewed determination tobe a better person—a truer parent to children, a more tolerant friend to others,a kinder coworker, a more committed partner. For this to happen, I must make upmy mind, because behavior that flows from conflicted thoughts can't becontrolled. Engaging in trench warfare with my personality doesn't work. Nordoes making resolutions that last only days or weeks. To succeed I must unite mymind around a single purpose. And love is the only true purpose, and the onlyreal unity.

2I know what to do. The only question is, will I do it.

I have never lived this day before. I am free to start fresh. My mistakes are inthe past. They can be my shame or my treasure of useful indicators. I will usethem to renew my faith and strengthen my resolve. Because of my mistakes, I knowwhat to do. Today I release the old ways that have split my mind and drained mypower. I will fill my thoughts with the newness of love and the simplicity ofpeace. Today I open myself to others so that I may open my heart to God.

3The answer is to let go of pressure, not add more.

My tendency is to make matters worse. Let me at least pause a moment and seewhat I want to do. When I set up a war within my mind, I put it between myselfand God, because I make conflict more important than everything else. When I tryto thwart other people, winning becomes more valuable to me than Love. And whenI try to dictate the course of events, I am immediately at odds with thesituation I'm already in. Yet when I relax into equality and trust in a greaterReality, life becomes simpler and my behavior modifies itself naturally.

4To free myself from useless battles, I put all things in God's hands.

Sooner or later, I must take a leap of faith. The existence of a sustaining Lovemakes no rational sense. It can only be felt when I exercise trust. As long as Iwait for signs, miracles, fulfillment of dreams, or just a slight improvement incircumstances, I will never know Reality. The divine can only be seen throughthe eyes of faith. Today I will proceed as if I already believe.

5Because the truth is true, letting go is all there is to do.

Everything I do today is like a little test. Do I want the question or theanswer, mental conflict or peace, to be right or happy, to be a burden to othersor a blessing, to awake or continue sleeping? Each decision I make moves me astep closer to Home or a step further away. Therefore, it's clear that since thechoice is between Truth and error, all I need do is to question—and therebyrelease—my desire to continue making the same mistakes.

6Instead of trying to force the day I want, let me embrace the day I am given.

Change begins with the willingness to make a modest effort each day. To at leasttry to let God be God, to let Truth be my truth. I betray what I believe when Ipush against events and other people. Naturally, if some change is helpful to meor another, I make it. But it's simply a fact that life is happier when I listento the music behind the scenery than when I nosily try to rearrange it.

7To be in God is simply to be connected.

I need something more than free will, independence, or specialness. I needsomething more than private thoughts, a personal code, or a splendid point ofview. I need people. Not in order to stay alive but in order to be fully alive,fully human, to be affectionate, funny, playful, generous, happy. I can love aconcept—I can study it, meditate on it, and repeat it to others—but I can'tthrow my arms around it. And that's what God is: arms around us all.

8Oneness is not cooperation. It is experiencing the familiar in another.

No one owes me anything. No one is obliged to meet my needs. People are people.They are not sexual experiences or career support or a series of well-wishers onmy daily rounds. They are not enemies of my enemies or my personal support groupor a way of killing time. People are not even a means for us to "get to the nextlevel." They don't exist to give to us, or to withhold. They are us.

9The only cost of forgiveness is to again be whole.

Isn't it obvious that anyone who wants to for give forgives easily? I must notunderestimate my desire to continue judging. But the problem with grievances,grudges, bitterness, and hurt feelings is that I have to remain damaged. I haveto remain living proof of the other person's guilt.

10When I see your heart, I want what you want.

"Love your neighbor as yourself" implies nothing more complicated than the factthat anything less than love is not love. The golden rule is not asking "Whatwould I want?" The question is what does my child, my friend, my partner, myparent truly want? Love does not guess; it enfolds, embraces, and understands.If we do not love someone outside ourselves, then quite simply, we do not loveourselves. God is love, and within the love of God there is no discrimination.

11Kindness is the touch of God.

If God is love, kindness is the key to happiness, freedom, and true success. Andif God is one, it is impossible that the practice of love would mean choosingbetween myself and another. I am being dishonest when I say that I must putmyself first. I must put love first. Today I will use the most powerful andtransformative of all spiritual practices: I will be kind. I will be kind tomyself, to everyone I encounter, and to everyone who crosses my mind.

12All around us is a welcoming Presence, but only by being kind can I feel it.

A gentle affect can disguise a malicious intent. Kindness is not smiling oragreeing or speaking softly. It must come from my heart and if expressed, alwaysinclude a silent blessing. Letting people know that I hold them in my prayerssometimes engages my ego because of the acknowledgment I seek. At other times,telling them that I am praying for them can be a way of connecting and showingsupport. Kindness must dictate the form my efforts take. Every living thing isheld in endless blessing by the divine. By being like God, we feel God.

13When I submit to Truth, I submit to harmlessness.

Submitting is not saying yes to every ego request or condoning destructivebehavior in myself or others. It has nothing to do with indecisive stands, shakyloyalties, or "seeing both sides" when a friend has been mistreated. Submittingis an impulse of sincerity, not an act of passivity or a show of impartiality.It is focusing sharply on my deeper self rather than on the superficial. Mybehavior is filled with God only when my heart is filled with God.

14By letting go, I fall into God.

If I "let go and let God," I allow Love to be within me. I quietly acknowledgeand embrace my true nature. Letting Love is extending love, looking gently,being quick to understand and slow to judge. It is relaxing, being still,accepting, and above all, giving up the illusion of control.

15The ego is always up to...