Truth Marches On

My parents, Bryan and Anita Havens
circa 1935

Fifty years ago my favorite album of all time was released: Abbey Road by the Beatles. And I have dear friends in town for their 50th class reunion this weekend. While I could be amazed by the way a lifetime passes by in a heartbeat, I’ve chosen to remember the simple ways my parents taught me to live. Even though it wasn’t very exciting to be an only child of older Christian Science parents, I am extremely grateful for the education I received at their hands. For years we bought nothing other than flour and sugar; everything else was raised and canned or frozen. I learned how to grow food and how to drive an old Chevy truck with three gears in the column. I learned to love reading and spent many hours hiding in the back field with my dog. But I also remember that they fell for the “poison is safe” rhetoric pushed on us by the pesticide companies. I have vivid memories of my daddy with one of those hand-pump sprayers full of poison, chasing the flies away from the watermelon at a picnic. But they also showed me how to be content, to know a loving God, and to be grateful for everything. This is why I look back at the last five decades with a smile of thanks. I’m certain they would have learned to be better stewards of the land today than they were then — just as I try harder every day.

"You may know when first Truth leads by the fewness and faithfulness of its followers. Thus it is that the march of time bears onward freedom's banner. The powers of this world will fight, and will command their sentinels not to let truth pass the guard until it subscribes to their systems, but Science, heeding not the pointed bayonet, marches on." Mary Baker Eddy 

Treat Yourself as Well as Your Neighbor

Mongolian Mountaintop
photo credit: Aaron Springston

I know someone who is being asked to move from her current apartment. She has been quite upset over this major life change and every day I hear a different problem and the improbability of its resolution. She is stuck in a helpless, hopeless mode and it’s become quite the drama for her. Today’s worry was how much work it would be to move and she didn’t know if she could face it. Now, this woman is extremely involved in helping at her church and projects with other friends and acquaintances. She has the energy and drive which marks a true go-getter. It suddenly came to me that she should treat herself as well as she does everyone else. If she was helping someone else move, she’d have the joy and energy which could transform a chore into a happening! I made her promise to imagine a friend in need, and see herself helping. When she crosses my mind, I’ll see her as happily expectant!

“A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service you can render to another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. You recognize your own and your neighbor's worth simultaneously.” A Course in Miracles

An Informed Citizenry

Workshop at Writers' Colony

Extra, extra, read all about it! Spread the good news! These sayings bring certain things to mind; things we may not think of nowadays when we pick up our phones and see the Apple News headlines. I used to get morning news from the radio. When my boys were small, I'd listen to the radio while we ate breakfast, but then I realized how horridly sensational most of it was, so I stopped listening. The Today Show was my mother's favorite, but most television news has gone the way of gossip magazines and such. More and more, we depend upon each other for news. I know I can trust my former newspaper man's take on the news, and I count on him to inform me when I'm not strong enough to do it myself. In talking to him, I've realized how important it is for each of us to educate ourselves and pass it on. So let's read, listen, learn, and then write! Write letters to the editor, or post your take on things to social media -- heck, pass out leaflets if you must!  And may we all heed Thomas Jefferson's words: "Good government flourishes in the sunshine, and our nation's founders knew that. 'A press that is free to investigate and criticize the government is absolutely essential in a nation that practices self-government and is therefore dependent on an educated and enlightened citizenry.'" 

Give A Good Day!

A dear friend gave some fine advice: Instead of worrying about having a good day, put your attention on giving a good day. What a wonderful perspective this gives to life! It also reminded me of something that happened when my gallery was open. People would ask how my day had been and I’d say, Great! Almost always they were referring to whether I’d made a lot of sales, which never factored into my answer. One day, a lady brought a stained glass ornament up and showed me that it was broken. I thanked her and she said, I’m so sorry to ruin your day. Of course, I laughed. If I had to make money to make my day, or if a broken item would ruin my day — well, most days would be so-so at best! Thank you dear heart-centered friend for the wonderful saying, which I will now use: Are you giving a great day today?

“Protect all things you value by the act of giving them away, and you are sure that you will never lose them. What you thought you did not have is thereby proven yours. Yet value not its form. For this will change and grow unrecognizable in time, however much you try to keep it safe. No form endures. It is the thought behind the form of things that lives unchangeable.” A Course in Miracles

Just Breathe

What a difference a day makes! I've been encouraging a dear friend who has been going through tough times, feeling suicidal, hopeless, deeply sad. Something shifted in her attitude yesterday and today she's almost happy again! I encourage everyone who is feeling depressed, or desperate, to know there is an end to it. Plant some flowers, even if you have no energy. Take a walk, even if you want to stay in bed. Get some sunshine, even if you'd rather stay in a deeply-curtained room. Talk to friends, when you're rather be alone. Watch a funny movie, even if you want to cry. But don't be afraid to cry, and savor every moment of the grief. It, too, is life. Feel everything to its ultimate end. Be grateful for all these things, and remember to breathe.

"Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth. Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love." Mary Baker Eddy 

News in the 21st Century

"I'm Chet Huntley, and I'm David Brinkley." How I long for those days of hearing their voices and never doubting they were reporting facts! It was, after all, the news. In the 1980s, the Christian Science Monitor started a cable television news network. They were the first, and no one wanted to watch news all day long. I wonder if news channels would be different had we seen what it meant to report with this intent: "to injure no man but to bless all mankind". Our political polarization in the 21st century is obscene. News channels say they are telling the truth, but their lies are blatantly transparent, only requiring a modicum of research to prove they are playing us, feeding our fears and insecurities. Some news stations report facts, but only ones they want us to hear. At least one tries to be middle of the road, but the powers that be malign them so much that many have no idea what to believe. When I hear an outlandish headline, I do a quick search on that exact headline; it is either true or it's not. I occasionally go to Snopes.com just to see what sort of craziness is making the rounds. My point is, anyone can find out if something is true or if it's a story with the purpose of scaring us or turning us against someone or a group of people. It's not difficult!

"When error strives to be heard above Truth, let the 'still small voice' produce God's phenomena. Meet dispassionately the raging element of individual hate and counteract its most gigantic falsities." Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellany Page 249

Lift Your Voice & Love Loud!

Art of J. Clement Wall

What do you do when you hear someone say something racist, sexist, ageist -- something that lays like a rock in your memory? When I was a child, I distinctly remember other children saying mean things to and about a girl. She didn't seem to have much going for her. To our way of thinking, she wasn't pretty or smart. But I liked her. I was only 8 or 9, and I was afraid to refute the words of a wad of kids who felt the need to be mean to her. I never forgave myself for that. But I hope I'm rectifying it now! After that time, I began to speak up in the face of injustice. Of course, I went overboard and sometimes would challenge others and defend things that didn't need my defense. Hopefully, I'm learning when my words are needed, as opposed to keeping my mouth shut and letting someone dig a hole for themselves! Whatever the case, this chalkboard art from J. Clement Wall speaks to how I feel today. "Lift Your Voice & Love Loud"! May I have the wisdom to know what to say and when to say it -- or not!   

"Who would defend himself unless he thought he were attacked, that the attack were real, and that his own defense could save himself? And herein lies the folly of defense; it gives illusions full reality, and then attempts to handle them..." A Course in Miracles