Weights and Measures

I remember a tale which relates to choosing joy rather than pain. In this story, we are asked how much a glass of water weighs. Then we are told it doesn't matter what its weight is; it matters how long we hold it. If we hold it a minute, it's light. If we hold it an hour, our arm and/or hand may become uncomfortable with the weight. If we hold it all day, our arm will feel paralyzed. This scenario is a metaphor for holding onto worries and fears. If we keep them with us, we become convinced they are impossible to overcome. We are paralyzed from the carrying of this weight. All we need do is put the glass down to be released from our burden! Then we are free to feel the joy which is innately ours as a child of Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Who that has felt the loss of human peace has not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy? The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual.”  Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265:23-30

Spring Cleaning!

Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
photo by Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #69

“My grievances hide the light of the world in me.”

The last words of today's lesson are: "Be sure to tell yourself: If I hold this grievance the light of the world will be hidden from me, if you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today." I think of spring cleaning in my home as similar to rooting out hidden grievances which are hiding the light within myself. Perhaps I'm holding on to some of these illusions because it's comfortable. Maybe I  have convinced myself that I like my history and wouldn't want to give up any of it, much less all of it. But what brilliance is hiding behind the cover of these grievance clouds? What light have I hidden with illusions I've created for myself and the world? I know something wonderful is there; I can feel it. So when an old story comes to mind, I will turn thought instead to contemplation of the wondrous Truth which flows in, out, and through me when I lift the veil created by my grievances. Now that's spring cleaning!

Mary Baker Eddy Quote:

“The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the window-pane. The light and the glass never mingle, but as matter, the glass is less opaque than the walls. The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that one which has lost much materiality--much error--in order to become a better transparency for Truth. Then, like a cloud melting into thin vapor, it no longer hides the sun.” Science & Health Page 295:14-24