Enhanced photo by Aaron Springston
I love to sit on my back deck, where nothing exists other than the forest and sky, with the insects and birds talking to me. My gratitude for this peace is all-encompassing. Of course, we are conditioned to feel guilty when we are happy in spite of other people’s misery and fear, so the thought crossed my mind that I should feel bad for others. But this was quickly corrected, because I know that no matter how awful I feel about the plight of another, it will do nothing to improve their lot. This does not mean that I have no compassion for them, but that I correct the picture of despair in my thoughts and see them according to the first book of Genesis rather than the second: God created everything and it was good. That is the spiritual reality of Life. So rather than dwelling on images burned into my retina by my knowledge of world events, I translate them into the purity of creation in its natural state: Love. The compassion I feel for all of the earth is not dimmed by my turning away from the material picture; rather it expands to include everything in the panoply of this Love This is the least I can do for my earthly family — or perhaps it’s the most.
“The notion of a material universe is utterly opposed to the theory of man as evolved from Mind. Such fundamental errors send falsity into all human doctrines and conclusions, and do not accord infinity to Deity. Error tills the whole ground in this material theory, which is entirely a false view, destructive to existence and happiness.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 545:1-5
“Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is to be changed.”
—A Course in Miracles W-23.1:4-5
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