Intuition/Planning

 

Tomorrow there is a wedding scheduled at the church where I play organ. We had rehearsal today and hardly anything went the way it was planned. As I watched mini-dramas unfold from my organ bench in the balcony, I was reminded of a recurring conversation my son and I had a few weeks ago. I'm not a big fan of planning; he thinks it's necessary. I'm sure we're both correct, as was shown by the events today. The priest was late because he didn't know there was to be a rehearsal. There was a glitch in the planning and so he had not heard. Many things were set up according to "usual" wedding protocol, but it turned out the priest and/or the wedding party didn't want it that way. So there had been some wasted effort in planning as things were changed at the last minute. The biggest faux pas was that the bride and groom didn't know they needed to get a wedding license! I'm not sure what category that falls into, but it added to the possible stress of the situation. Father Joseph speaks a number of languages in his native Nigerian accent, and he is delightful. When he entered the church 30 minutes late, he immediately began to work the room, putting everyone at ease, joking, and giving orders. Listening to his Spanglish (the wedding party are Hispanic, but most speak at least some English), was a fun and interesting activity. From my viewpoint up above, I hardly ever had any idea of what was going on, but I shall trust my intuition to carry us through the Spanish service tomorrow. It will be a lovely wedding...

“Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 298:13-15

True Happiness

 

Maxfield Parrish - Early Morning, First Snow, 1959.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” Seneca

Happy Thanksgiving

 "Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 3:22-27

Imagine

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photo credit: Richard Quick 

Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a world where losing is impossible, where love lasts forever, where hate does not exist, and vengeance has no meaning? It would be grand if we never had misunderstandings because communication was clear and precise, without the burden of forming words to tell others what we mean. There would be no hard feelings between people as we wouldn't blame others for thinking differently than we do, because we know that at our core all of us are One. The world we have created is wonderful in many ways, but there are also horrors beyond words, and this is what causes people to lose faith in this thing we call God. We have created an un-God-like world and blame an unknown deity for what we think we cannot change. What if we're wrong and what we see is not true creation? Imagine that!!

“That which material sense calls intangible, is found to be substance. What to material sense seems substance, becomes nothingness, as the sense-dream vanishes and reality appears." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 312:3-6

Love Fills All Space

photo credit: Arthur Bruno

 
Our neighborhood once had a situation where house cats were being neglected. Their person went into a nursing home and they had been living by themselves for many months, with someone coming to feed them once a day. Occasionally they were let outside, and when this happened they would go to someone’s door and cry for attention. It has recently occurred to me that if anyone or anything is outside our door, crying in need, we should open the door. In our society, it’s very easy to think someone else should take care of people in need or animals crying from loneliness. Although I have no hard and fast answers, I do know that Love has an answer. Today I will listen to hear where divine love is leading me!

“The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 519:3-5

Expectation of Good

photo credit: Edward Robison

 My youngest son and I occasionally enjoy watching Master Chef Junior while sharing brunch. Recently, when we sat down to do this, the Hulu website seemed to be malfunctioning to the point of causing me to call customer service. In the past, I have dreaded phone calls to techies, which can be fraught with conflict, whether from my ignorance or their arrogance. I vowed to return to Love in my thoughts before picking up the phone and contacting them. I was quickly connected with someone, who passed me on to someone else, who sent me to his supervisor, who told me I needed to talk to the first person I spoke with. The good side of this was that it happened quickly, with much laughter and good will on all our parts, and the illusion of a problem was fixed within a few minutes. I am grateful for the tools which allow me to be absolutely certain that all is well, without expectation of what comes next!

“The suppositional warfare between truth and error is only the mental conflict between the evidence of the spiritual senses and the testimony of the material senses, and this warfare between the Spirit and flesh will settle all questions through faith in and the understanding of divine Love.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 288:3-7

Another Road

 

Leatherwood Trail, Eureka Springs, AR

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson

I.

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk

I fall in.

I am lost ... I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes me forever to find a way out.

II.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place

but, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in ... it's a habit.

my eyes are open

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V.

I walk down another street.

By: Portia Nelson