InnerSelf Daily Inspiration - July 30, 2026

InnerSelf Daily Inspiration

July 30, 2026

Finding Happiness Beyond Life's Big Deals

By Maria Felipe

In the beginning, there was perfect happiness. Sometimes this state is referred to metaphorically as the Garden of Eden, but it's really a state of mind that's pure bliss. Ecstasy! No judgments, sadness, anger, or sickness existed...only love. Then arose a very silly thought: "Is there something else?" That was the beginning of doubt, and as the Course suggests, "No one has been sure of anything since" (ACIM, ch. 3, section V).

The way to solve problems begins with understanding where they are not. Our problems are not "out there" in the world; they are in our mind. When we believe our problems are out there, they will rapidly grow in number and intensity until it feels like we are living in hell. Hell is not some awful place where God sends people for being bad; hell is unhappiness, right where we are right now. The simple fact is that we create all of our own experiences, and we can start creating better ones right now. To live our happy, we have to face all our big deals and forgive them. In other words, we let go of all the crap we keep telling ourselves.

The Course defines a miracle as a "shift in perception," meaning that we choose to see things in a different way. Once I had allowed myself to feel the initial pain of my divorce, I was able to make some choices about how to see it. This is how I learned one of the great lessons of my spiritual life: Extraordinary gifts can be hidden in events that appear to be hard or ugly. To look for a miracle means facing those dark places in yourself where you still need to heal. Then you can learn to let go of the barriers that keep you from recognizing the love that you are — that is, God within.

Recommended Reading