Last week, I shared a Practical Wisdom called When Truth Softens You.

It grew out of a recent Healing Projections Through Current Events class in which we looked at Anthony Fauci, COVID, vaccination, vindication, and the temptation to say:

"See? I told you so."

The deeper question was never really about Fauci.

It was:

Can you remain humble when you believe the world has finally discovered you were right?

After the newsletter went out, I received several lovely responses.

And then I received a thoughtful email from a reader who strongly disagreed with aspects of what I had written.

She reminded me that more than a million Americans died during the pandemic. She spoke about the contagiousness of COVID, vaccination and masking, protecting other people, and her belief that humanity should have worked together rather than politicizing a public-health crisis.

She also challenged some of the conclusions surrounding Fauci and reminded me that invoking the Fifth Amendment does not itself establish guilt.

And as I read her email, I thought:

Yes.

Not yes, I agree with everything you said.

And not yes, now let me show you where you're wrong.

Just...

Yes.

Because she had handed me the other side of the mirror.

And I realized When Truth Softens You needed a Part Two.

So, thank you, sweet sister K.

You gave us another forgiveness classroom.

The Other Side of the Same Mirror

Last week's Practical Wisdom spoke primarily to those who resisted vaccination, mandates, or other COVID-era policies and who may now feel vindicated.

The invitation was:

If I trusted my inner guidance, why do I need you to believe I was right?

This week, we're turning the mirror.

What if you believed vaccination was the responsible choice?

What if you wore a mask because you genuinely believed you were protecting other people?

What if you were caring for an elderly parent?

What if someone you loved was medically vulnerable?

What if you were terrified that you might unknowingly infect another person?

And what if your inner guidance genuinely told you:

Get vaccinated.

Then get vaccinated!

I said that throughout the COVID years.

I meant it then.

I mean it now.

I never believed everyone who listened within would necessarily receive the same guidance I did.

Because the spiritual lesson wasn't:

Don't get vaccinated.

The lesson was:

Learn to listen!

And then trust what you hear.

But Then Comes the Harder Part

Can I trust my guidance...

without requiring your guidance to sound exactly like mine?

Oof.

Because otherwise:

"Listen to your inner guidance"

secretly means:

"Listen within until God agrees with me."

😂

Hello again, spiritualized ego.

Perhaps one person sincerely prayed, listened, consulted their doctor, considered the information available, and felt peaceful receiving the vaccine.

Another sincerely listened within, considered the information available, and felt a clear:

No.

Now the real spiritual classroom begins.

Can they remain brothers?

Can they honor one another?

Can they disagree without making the other person stupid, selfish, dangerous, gullible, brainwashed, irresponsible, asleep, or evil?

Because the decision itself may not reveal which teacher we're following nearly as clearly as what we make our brother into because of his decision.

When Working Together Becomes "Do What I Need You to Do"

One phrase from the email stayed with me.

COVID was a time when people should have worked together.

I agree 100%.

But let's examine what working together means.

The ego's version can become:

Working together means you must do what I believe is necessary for me to feel safe.

The Holy Spirit's version might sound more like:

Working together means I can honor your humanity even when your choices frighten me.

That does not mean abandoning public-health recommendations.

It does not mean ignoring medical advice.

It does not mean abandoning boundaries or practical precautions.

It doesn't even mean agreeing with someone else's decision.

It means:

I don't have to dehumanize my brother while making mine.

And during COVID...

many of us did.

On both sides.

Same Classroom. Same Ego. Different Costume.

Some vaccinated people looked at the unvaccinated and saw:

Selfish.

Ignorant.

Irresponsible.

Dangerous.

Some unvaccinated people looked at the vaccinated and saw:

Fearful.

Gullible.

Brainwashed.

Weak.

Different words.

Same judgment.

Different sides.

Same separation.

Different costumes.

Same ego.

And perhaps underneath both was the same unconscious demand:

If you would just see this the way I do, I could finally feel safe.

But my brother was never responsible for giving me the peace of God.

Not by getting vaccinated.

Not by refusing vaccination.

Not by wearing a mask.

Not by removing one.

Not by trusting Fauci.

Not by distrusting him.

Not by agreeing with me.

My peace was always, and will always remain, an inside job.

When Fear Calls Itself Compassion

This is where the inquiry becomes uncomfortable.

And therefore useful, if we want to grow spiritually. 

There were people during COVID who sincerely believed:

I am doing this because I care about other people.

Beautiful.

But what happened when another person said no?

Could compassion remain compassion?

Or did fear enter?

Did concern become judgment?

Did judgment become righteousness?

And did righteousness eventually justify ridicule, shame, exclusion, coercion, or contempt?

If so, perhaps compassion wasn't the only voice speaking anymore.

Fear may have joined the conversation.

And the ego's fear is clever.

Fear doesn't always announce:

"Hello. I'm fear."

Sometimes fear says:

"I'm only trying to protect people."

Sometimes fear says:

"If you cared about others, you would do what I'm doing."

Sometimes fear says:

"People like you are the problem."

And because fear has wrapped itself in something that sounds compassionate...

we may never question which teacher we're following.

The Bully and the Victim

The ego loves these two roles.

Victim.

Bully.

And it can switch between them incredibly quickly because they are two sides of the same coin.

Someone could experience another person's refusal to vaccinate as a threat and therefore feel like the victim:

"Your choice is endangering me."

From that position, attacking the other person could begin to feel justified.

Now the perceived victim becomes the bully...

while still believing they are defending themselves.

But before anyone on the unvaccinated side starts nodding too enthusiastically...

😂

Turn the mirror.

Someone who felt bullied by mandates, ridicule, exclusion, or pressure could later use that wound to justify contempt:

"Look at those idiots who fell for it."

Victim becomes bully.

Again.

The ego doesn't particularly care which role you play.

It just wants you to forget one thing:

The person standing across from you is your holy brother or sister.

What Did We Actually Trust?

This brings us back to ACIM Lesson 76:

"I am under no laws but God's."

It is easy to use that lesson to question governments, medical establishments, experts, institutions, and outside authorities.

But what happens when we turn Lesson 76 inward?

Being under no laws but God's doesn't mean I never consult a doctor.

It doesn't mean I reject science.

It doesn't mean I automatically distrust authority.

And it certainly doesn't make my intuition infallible.

It means something much deeper.

I am learning where my ultimate safety resides.

If I believe a medical choice is right for me, I can make it.

If I believe a precaution is wise, I can take it.

If I need a boundary, I can establish one.

But what happens to my peace when you choose differently?

That's where I discover the voice I actually trust.

Compassion Without Control

This may be one of the most challenging forms of compassion:

I love you enough to let you make a choice I would not make.

I can give you information.

I can express concern.

I can establish boundaries.

I can make different choices for myself.

I can even strongly disagree with you.

But can I do all of that without forgetting who you are?

Can I disagree with your behavior...

without withdrawing your divinity?

That is the classroom.

And it extends far beyond COVID.

I Know Who You Are

This has become one of the most transformative practices of my own journey.

When someone behaves in a way that activates my ego...

when I believe they're wrong...

when I don't understand their choices...

when everything in me wants to judge...

I practice remembering:

I know who you are.

You are still as God created you.

Not:

"I approve of everything you're doing."

Not:

"There are no consequences for choices."

Not:

"I have to participate in your reality."

Simply:

Nothing you have done has changed what God created you to be.

And if that's true for the people I love...

it must also be true for the people I judge.

Otherwise I'm not practicing forgiveness.

I'm practicing favoritism.

Neither Side Gets to Keep Its Specialness

Here is where Parts One and Two finally meet.

The unvaccinated person doesn't become Christ-like by proving the vaccinated person was fooled.

The vaccinated person doesn't become Christ-like by proving the unvaccinated person was irresponsible.

Both become Christ-like when they can look across that divide and remember:

I know who you are.

You are still as God created you.

That's the miracle.

Not agreement.

Recognition.

What Would a Teacher of God Have Looked Like During COVID?

Perhaps this is worth asking now that we have some distance from those extraordinary years.

What would trust have looked like?

What would honesty have looked like?

What would tolerance have looked like?

What would patience have looked like?

What would defenselessness have looked like?

What would gentleness have looked like?

Maybe gentleness received the vaccine.

Maybe gentleness declined it.

Maybe gentleness wore the mask.

Maybe gentleness stayed home.

Maybe gentleness established a boundary.

Maybe gentleness protested a mandate.

The external behavior alone cannot always tell us which teacher someone was following.

But the mind can.

Was I acting from peace?

Or fear?

Was I extending Love?

Or demanding compliance?

Was I honoring my brother or sister?

Or making them responsible for my safety?

Was I listening?

Or merely obeying?

Was I discerning?

Or merely rebelling?

Was I becoming more Christ-like?

The Real Question Was Never the Vaccine

Five years later, I don't believe the most valuable spiritual question is:

Who made the correct COVID decision?

The more useful question is:

Who did I become because someone else made a different one?

Did I become more afraid?

More controlling?

More judgmental?

More superior?

More defensive?

Or did the experience teach me...

to listen more deeply?

to trust more fully?

to honor another person's path?

to release my need to control?

to forgive?

to become gentler?

Because ultimately, the vaccine was temporary.

The mask was temporary.

The pandemic was temporary.

The arguments were temporary.

But what we learned about Love...

we get to keep.

Integration in Daily Life

COVID may no longer be your classroom.

So who is?

Who is making a choice right now that frightens you?

Your child?

Your spouse?

A friend?

A politician?

A neighbor?

Someone whose worldview seems completely incomprehensible to you?

Notice what your mind does.

Then ask:

Can I honor your humanity when your choices frighten me?

And perhaps go one step further:

Can I trust God enough that I no longer need to control you in order to experience peace?

You don't have to approve.

You don't have to agree.

You don't have to participate.

Just practice remembering:

I know who you are.

You are still as God created you.

Lainaism

Fear says: "Change your behavior so I can feel safe."

Love says: "I remember who you are while you find your own way."

Thank You for the Mirror

And to the reader whose thoughtful email inspired this Practical Wisdom:

Thank you, K.

Truly.

Not because we necessarily see every aspect of COVID the same way.

But because you reminded me why open dialogue matters.

Agreement doesn't give us many opportunities to discover where our judgments are hiding.

Disagreement does.

When offered to the Holy Spirit, even irritation can become an invitation.

Even disagreement can become a holy encounter.

Even an email saying,

"Laina, I see this differently..."

can become...

Part Two.

😂❤️

So please keep talking to me.

Keep questioning.

Keep sharing.

We don't have to agree to remain joined.

In fact, perhaps learning that we can disagree without withdrawing Love is exactly the healing our world needs.

Closing Transmission

Beloved,

You never needed your brother to make the same choice you made.

You needed the experience of his different choice to reveal what was still unhealed within you.

Perhaps his choice frightened you.

Perhaps it angered you.

Perhaps you felt betrayed.

Perhaps you thought he was foolish.

Perhaps you desperately wanted him to wake up.

And perhaps...

he was helping you wake up.

Not by agreeing with you.

By giving you another opportunity to choose Love.

So when your brother frightens you...

when your sister disappoints you...

when someone makes a choice you cannot understand...

remember:

The goal is not to make them more like you.

The goal is to allow every encounter to make you more like Christ.

And eventually, perhaps we can look across every divide humanity has created and say:

I know who you are.

You are still as God created you.

The world may call that naïve.

The ego may call it weakness.

A Course in Miracles calls it remembering.

And I call it...

the Second Coming.

I Love You,