Sequethia Gets Slapped (ACIM 5)

Tim (Sequethia’s co-worker) was so excited about a project at work that he rushed into his boss’s office for clarification of an issue.  His boss seemed to be wrapping up a meeting with Sequethia, and so Tim just asked a quick question.  Sequethia felt as if someone had just slapped her in the face.  She felt dismissed, discarded, unimportant, unheard.  She could feel an anger and rage rising up from within her and it took all the strength she could gather just to keep her composure.  She sighed and tried to hold herself from shaking with anger

Tim, realizing how his actions impacted Sequethia, then apologized profusely.  However Sequethia  was not ready to receive his apology and continued pouting, giving Tim the “cold shoulder” and holding her space of hurt. Tim then sent an email, cc’ing his boss in another attempt to apologize for his behavior. 

The next day, it was clear that Sequethia was still angry at Tim. When Tim tried to talk to her about the situation again, she was not yet ready to forgive, and she brought up what was really bothering her – “Last year, you betrayed my confidence about another of our peers”.  Since then, every time Sequethia passed Tim or interacted with him, it was if she had another brick in her stomach.  By now she had enough bricks in her stomach that a “wall” had been built between them.  Tim was unaware that Sequethia held this perception. She was not upset about the interruption, that was just the “trigger” to help her realize the true reason she was upset. 

When Sequethia talked with me about her upset, we did a brief meditation to find out (in her subconscious mind) what was at the root of her reaction.  She realized that in that moment, she wasn’t a 48 year old professional with an Advanced Degree (pending).  In that moment, she was a little girl vying for her father’s attention, and getting shoved to the side because he preferred alcohol, ladies and gambling more.  The hurt and pain of being made to feel unimportant flooded her mind, her body and her very essence, and this searing, burning pain fueled her reaction.  She was not upset for the reason that she thought.  It really had nothing to do with Tim’s interruption or his betrayal.  She felt betrayed by her father, and in truth, she felt betrayed by God.[1]

We are never upset for the reason we think, and this upset keeps us from the Miracle of Love.  In this case, Tim was giving Sequethia the love that she needed, but she was unable to accept this love because she saw only the past, was upset because of her obsession with the past.  We all have a little bit of Sequethia in us.

A Course In Miracles, Lesson 5 “I AM NEVER UPSET FOR THE REASON I THINK” helps us to understand this so that we can get to the “root” of our “upset” and choose to be at peace instead. If you’d like to take one more step closer to peace, then during the course of your day, tell yourself “I am never upset for the reasons I think” and notice all the things that cause you upset.  You’ll find that they are generally triggers to a deeper upset that the Miracle can heal. 

How many times have we chosen upset over peace.   Love brings peace. Choose love.

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