|
||
|
|
||
|
Late teenage years are filled with frustration about becoming independent, trusted as an adult and a desire to explore freedoms glamorized by the television, movies and advertising. Power, influence, sex appeal, money, fashion, popularity, weight, romance are all seemingly important areas of your life. Then come career choices, living arrangements, grad school, marriage, --choices, choices, and more choices. One thing is sure, you have a choice but it may not be the one you think. You have to choose between that which is pulling you into experimentation and for which you will submit yourself to material standards, even if that means compromising your basic standards you were taught from childhood to preserve. Is it wrong to have those desires? Is it wrong to enjoy a fantastic romance, to have a great job, make money, dress fashionably, want to be popular? Of course not! That is not the question. The question I: are those wonderful events the result of you manipulation and human will or, rather, are they the result (by-product) of a quality of thought that attracts into your experience everything comfortable with your thought? If inspiration come first you will be lead to the right choices for the right reasons. In Science and Health on page 297:20-24 Mrs. Eddy writes, Faith is higher and more spiritual than belief. It is a chrysalis state of human thought, in which spiritual evidence, contradicting the testimony of material sense, begins to appear, and Truth, the ever-present, is becoming understood. Chrysalis refers tot he cacoon state where a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. In a LETTER FROM MBE TO FRANK GALE, in WE KNEW MARY BAKER EDDY, PAGE 90 Mr. Gale writes: "You are growing. The Father has sealed you, and the opening of these seals must not surprise you. The character of Christ is wrought out in our lives by just such processes. The tares and wheat appear to grow together until the harvest; then the tares are first gathered, that is, you have seasons of seeing your errors-and afterwards by reason of this very seeing, the tares are burned, the error is destroyed. Then you see Truth plainly and the wheat is 'gathered into barns,' it becomes permanent in the understanding.” We all have materially-based, selfish, willful thoughts. But we also know what is right in our thinking too. Both are there side be side. It is our responsibility to let Mind transform us, to “exchange the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul”. But, how do we do that? Become more childlike. Simple answer isn’t it? It usually is something simple. Look at what out textbook says about retaining your child-likeness: (page 130:20): (And, page 236: 28) Jesus loved little children because of their freedom from wrong and their receptiveness of right. While age is halting between two opinions or battling with false beliefs, youth makes easy and rapid strides towards Truth. I suppose if you could pick one quality to characterize others opinion of you is would be grace. Grace is that quality that is least touched be human will, manipulation, never seeks popularity and is infinitely sexier than anything you could possible do to be physically attractive. It is the very quality that evolves from childlike purity. It is the natural self that requires nothing but inspiration to look beautiful. Mrs. Eddy wirtes on page 67:23 Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other means and methods. |
||
|
|
||
|
Previous Article Return to Class Note Menu |
||
|
|
||
|