“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” – Luke 6: 31
***
A few years ago a dear friend shared with me that she was told the drugs she’s been prescribed to take while she’s in cancer remission will cost $30,000 to $40,000 a month. She did not have health insurance at the time. I was floored by the financial burden her family was going to be expected to bear while she recovered from cancer, chemo, and radiation, and tried to find a way to pay for the drugs she was told she needed to take to stay alive.
Health care, in my opinion, should be considered a basic necessity of life – in the same category as food, water, and shelter; I don’t believe anyone should be denied access to the care they believe they need simply because they lack the financial resources. (Nor should they be denied the care they need simply because it’s not the type of care of which their elected officials personally approve or disapprove – determining whether a type of health care is “acceptable” should not be the job of politicians.)
I myself rarely use the health care insurance that I pay into through work. But, as a member of a community, and as a responsible citizen, I have no problem contributing to a pot of money that will help others who find themselves in the same circumstances as my friend recovering from cancer. There are ways we can provide for each other as a community that we can’t provide as single individuals. I can’t give my friend $30,000 a month – but I can share my part of a collective health insurance pot with her, and I’m happy to do so.
***
“Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
“ But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
“They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
“When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.”
“Do the unexpected. Take 20 minutes of your day to do what young people all over the world are dying to do: vote.” – Rick Mercer (Canadian Wit Extraordinaire)
“Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy has always believed that those who are entitled to vote should do so, and she has also believed that in such matters no one should seek to dictate the actions of others.” – from Prose Works by Mary Baker Eddy
I appreciate that in the Christian Science movement there’s no official authority telling its members how to vote on issues, or which politicians they should try to elect. Members are expected to vote as individual conscience and understanding dictate. And this, I believe, is as it should be.
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science church, was a strong believer in separation of church and state. She writes, in Miscellaneous Writings: “Progress, legitimate to the human race, pours the healing balm of Truth and Love into every wound. It reassures us that no Reign of Terror or rule of error will again unite Church and State, or re-enact, through the civil arm of governments, the horrors of religious persecution.” (Noand Yes, p 44) And, warning against the tendency of religious institutions to try to dictate the workings of government, she writes: “It is the pulpit and press, clerical robes and the prohibiting of free speech, that cradles and covers the sins of the world, – all unmitigated systems of crime; and it requires the enlightenment of these worthies, through civil and religious reform, to blot out all inhuman codes. It was the Southern pulpit and press that influenced the people to wrench from man both human and divine rights, in order to subserve the interests of wealth, religious caste, civil and political power.”
Although there’s no one within the Christian Science church telling its member which political candidate should get their vote, Mary Baker Eddy did describe, in Prose Works, the type of individual I want representing me: “The upright man is guided by a fixed Principle, which destines him to do nothing but what is honorable, and to abhor whatever is base or unworthy; hence we find him ever the sane, – at all times the trusty friend, the affectionate relative, the conscientious man of business, the pious worker, the public-spirited citizen…He assumes no borrowed appearance. He seeks no mask to cover him, for he acts no studied part; but he is indeed what he appears to be, – full of truth, candor, and humanity. In all his pursuits, he knows no path but the fair, open, and direct one, and would much rather fail of success than attain it by reproachable means.”
My conscience and understanding lead me in the direction that points towards individual freedom and choice. One of the guiding questions for me, as I vote on ballot issues, is: “Is this any of my business?” As the Bible says, we all need to work out our own salvation. We all need to be allowed to have our own experience, and to make our own choices – so long as those choices do not cause harm to others.
In the Bible, Peter had pretty strong words to say towards those inclined to be a “busybody” – putting it in the same category as “murderer” and “evildoer”: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” – I Peter 4: 15
(Whoah, right?)
And when considering the workings of politics, and separation of church and state, I’ve always found these passages in The Bible helpful:
“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” – John 6: 15
“Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
“ But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
“They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
“When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.”
Did I ever tell you about the time I thought God was leading me to atheism?
Yeah. That probably tells you something about how my pointy little head works, eh?
I’d discovered on a religion forum that I seemed to have more in common with the forum’s atheists – many of whom became and continue to be dear friends – than I do with most of the people who identified themselves as “believers.” I came to realize that I probably actually WAS an atheist when it came to the concept of “God” that most people were describing. The concept of God I was raised with in Christian Science was much different than the anthropomorphic wrathful, jealous, angry, vengeful, send-his-children-to-hell god that so many people seemed inclined to follow on the forum.
In the textbook for Christian Science (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures) Mary Baker Eddy writes: “The word anthropomorphic, in such a phrase as “an anthropomorphic God,” is derived from two Greek words, signifying man and form, and may be defined as a mortally mental attempt to reduce Deity to corporeality… The ideal man corresponds to creation, to intelligence, and to Truth. The ideal woman corresponds to Life and to Love. In divine Science, we have not as much authority for considering God masculine, as we have for considering Him feminine, for Love imparts the clearest idea of Deity.” When I’d share this concept of God with my forum friends, I was often asked why I even bother to call God “God” then – why not just say “Love” or “Truth” and be done with it?
What they were suggesting made a kind of sense to me. And I wondered if God was leading me to atheism.
So I put atheism on and tried it out for a couple weeks. Walked around in atheism and tried to look at the world as I thought an atheist might see it. It was interesting. It wasn’t horrible. I didn’t feel like the spawn of Satan or anything.
But the thing is… well, the thing is that in the end I realized it just wasn’t me. It felt really silly and dishonest for me to deny the presence of God in my life, and to deny the wonderful things I’ve witnessed that, to me, are proof of God. God is Love, yes. And Love is God, too – a presence and power – a verb AND a noun.
So there you have it. I am a theist. Do I think I’m in any way better than my atheist friends? Nah. I think we all find the path that makes the most sense to us – and for some of us that will include a belief in a god, and for some of us it won’t. I can’t force myself to NOT believe in God, any more than my atheist friends can force themselves TO believe in God. And it’s all good. As my beloved Aunt Junie used to say: “Whatever makes your socks go up and down.”
“God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” – I John 4
“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore, and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.” – Frantz Fanon
I love this quote by Frantz Fanon. I think at one time or another we’ve probably all experienced some cognitive dissonance in our lives – times when, because of our own world view, background, and experiences we simply can’t accept the evidence set down in front of us.
Now and then I’ve been asked to share evidence and proof of “God.” Now, for me, “God” is not a supernatural anthropomorphic being who throws thunderbolts from the heavens and sometimes chooses to help us and sometimes chooses to not. For me “God” is supremely natural – simply another name for Love, Truth, and Life – the power of Good. And I experience healing by bringing myself into harmony with this power – by filling my thoughts up with Love, joy, hope, and courage, and cleansing my thoughts of fear, anger, hatred, and so on. So, when asked to offer evidence and proof of my God, I might say that kindness, honesty, and intelligence are all evidence of God. Or I might share healings I’ve experienced through bringing my thoughts close to God. I might, for instance, share the following healings as proof of God, Good:
I witnessed my little brother healed of doctor-diagnosed mastoiditus when he was 7 – one minute he was screaming in pain, the next he was snoring. Healing confirmed by a medical doctor the next day.
A couple years ago my optometrist found a melanoma on my eyelid – he showed me a picture of it and had me set up an appointment with a surgeon right then – two weeks later the eye surgeon could find no trace of the melanoma.
After my hand inflated to twice its normal size, I went to a doctor. The doctor told me I probably either had a serious infection or rheumatoid arthritis. The doctor sent me in for blood tests. After the blood tests I went home and called a CS practitioner for prayerful support. By the third morning my hand had completely deflated and I was fine. The blood tests came back. One of the markers indicated rheumatoid arthritis. The nurse was shocked when I told her I was fine. That was several years ago. No return of the condition.
I was taken to the OR to have an emergency c-section with my second son. I asked my mom to call a CS practitioner for support. Just before they were going to slice me open, the surgical team got surprised looks on their faces, and starting telling me to push. The baby was born naturally. One of the OR nurses was crying because it was all so beautiful, and she’d never been able to see a natural delivery before. The midwife told me they don’t know what happened. It was a surprise to all of them.
The response I get from friends after I share these experiences is really fascinating to me. Some friends – those who are open to the evidence I share with them, will celebrate and rejoice with me. But there are others – often friends who were raised as children with a different kind of a “God” than mine and rebelled against that thunderbolt-throwing god (and who can blame them?) – who seem unable to accept what I’m sharing.
I’m told by these friends that I can’t just go around making up my own definition for “God.” I tell them I didn’t come up with this concept of God on my own and that it’s not a new concept – that in the Bible we’re told “God is love” (I John 4) and that as far back as the late 19th century Mary Baker Eddy listed these synonyms for God – “Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, Love.”
Okay, but these healings are not proofs of a supernatural being, these friends tell me – my body would have healed itself naturally, anyway. I agree with them – as Mary Baker Eddy writes in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Now, as then, these mighty works (healings) are not supernatural, but supremely natural.” Later she writes, “God is natural good… Truth should not seem so surprising and unnatural as error, and error should not seem so real as truth. Sickness should not seem so real as health.”
At this point my friends will often tell me that, although I am, of course, a very nice person, I’m also completely cracked to trust my health to this power of good, rather than depending on the laboratory-tested workings of medical science.
Ahem. Soooo… do I go there or do I not? If I go there…
I might point out that, according to the American Medical Association, medical science is the third-leading cause of death in this country. I might share the countless stories of people who have died from medical treatment, rather than the original malady that brought them to the medical doctors. I might point out that just a few weeks ago Newsweek’s cover story was about the unsafe care Americans receive in our nation’s hospitals. Author Marty Makary writes: “Bad doctors. Prescription errors. Surgical slips. Medical mistakes injure or kill hundreds of thousands of Americans every year… When I was a medical student medical science began to seem as dangerous and dishonest as it was miraculous and precise. The defining moment came when I saw a sweet old lady I cared about die after a procedure she didn’t need and didn’t want.” (http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/09/16/are-hospitals-less-safe-than-we-think.html) I might point out all the side effects (nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, depression, thoughts of suicide, weight gain, liver damage, heart attacks, death) listed on those drug commercials we’re all familiar with on television don’t instill in me an urgent desire to race to the nearest pharmacy. And then I might ask them, after all this, if it really seems logical or reasonable to question the sanity of thinking people who choose not to see medical science as the panacea for their health challenges.
But because my world view is so different from theirs, these friends often experience a “cognitive dissonance” – an inability to recognize the healings I’ve experienced through my understanding of the power of God, Good, and the flaws in the system that they’ve come to depend on. The idea of not turning, first, to medical science and, instead, trusting in the power of Love, Truth, and Life, is so foreign and alien that they simply can’t seem to grasp the idea of it, or to acknowledge my healings as proof of God.
I am not averse to visiting optometrists, dentists, and doctors when I feel the need to do so – I have no worries about being ex-communicated from my church or raising the wrath of God or anything – and I’m grateful for my doctors’ training, intelligence, and humor (all my doctors have a sense of humor – it is one of my requirements). But I have also proven, for myself, the constant, unchanging power of God when I’m able to draw near to Love and Truth – and I have found this power to be a dependable and effective one in my life.
In divine Science, where prayers are mental, all may avail themselves of God as “a very present help in trouble.” – Mary Baker Eddy
Here’s a youtube clip of a healing of scarlet fever – had to share this:
“…progress is the law of God, whose law demands of us only what we can certainly fulfill.” – Mary Baker Eddy
***
I kind of surprised myself yesterday. A friend was sharing some of the challenges he’s dealing with in his life right now – telling me about some really absurd glitches in our legal system that seem to have wreaked havoc on his financial situation. And my first reaction was to get angry at the injustice, inequity, and unfairness of it all. But – and this is the part that surprised me – as he told me about his circumstances – low on funds, looking for steady income, his livelihood depending more and more on his part-time gigs as a musician, rather than on a typical “day job” – I found myself actually starting to feel excited for him.
I recognized that he’s in that incredible place of change and growth, possibility and opportunity, that have marked the last year for me – and I felt really happy for him. I know. That must sound weird, eh? But I just knew, as I listened to him, that he has been brought to the brink of something really amazing. He is at the cusp of change.
***
It’s been a year now since I encountered my own “cusp of change,” and it has been one of the most amazing years of my life.
Twelve months ago my life appeared to be in crisis. The underpinnings for my financial security were on the brink of being pulled out, my twenty-year career was coming to an end, and I was looking at unfairness and inequity that left me reeling, emotionally. When the boat finally capsized, figuratively, I found myself washed up on an unfamiliar shore, stripped of financial security and purpose, and with no clear solution to the challenges of my situation. I really had no choice but to start over and rebuild from the bottom up.
And it was awesome!
For the first time in years I didn’t have to try to fit my life into a rigid schedule and a tight structure. My life was my own to create as I felt led. Creativity danced up to the front of the line, and concerns about conformity, pleasing others, and money retreated to the rear. Opportunities that required my skills and talents as a writer presented themselves; photography became a big part of my life; and a position at a local alternative high school opened up for me.
And I had a sort of epiphany: I never want to be paid so much money that I no longer own my own “soul.” I want enough to live and be comfortable and to share with others – but I don’t want so much that I become dependent on it, and feel the need to give up my own sense of right and wrong to keep getting it. I never, again, want to feel beholden to a company or business or system, for my security.
The inequity and unfairness that my friend is experiencing right now, and that I experienced a year ago under somewhat different circumstances, are actually a blessing, I think. “Trials are proofs of God’s care,” Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and later she writes, “The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares.”
Love, God, has always been with me – through the good stuff and the “bad” – leading and guiding me, and opening up new doors ahead of me, as other doors have closed behind me. In the last year I’ve come to recognize that Love will always provide for me and mine, and that I never need to fear what the future holds; It holds nothing but good – because even the “bad” is transformed into something good when we put Love at the helm.
Things are starting to settle in my life now. The wave of change has carried me to a place where I have the opportunity to express God more fully and completely than I could from my former position in life. There is freedom here, and great joy. I kind of miss the wild, heady exhilaration of the wave of change that brought me here. But I’m going to enjoy all that I’ve gained from the wave, and the place where it’s brought me. I expect other waves are waiting for me in the future, and I look forward to them.
___
“God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis.” – Mary Baker Eddy
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…” – Romans 8: 28
Or, to paraphrase: We know that all things work together for good to them that love Love.
“To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings.”
– from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
***
This has simply been an amazing year. As some of you know, last year I felt led to leave my job of 20 years and launch myself into The Great Unknown. I knew it was the right thing for me to do, but I have to admit that I didn’t enter this new chapter of my life without some trepidation. One of my chief concerns was what the future would hold for my sons, one of whom was attending university, and the other of whom would soon be graduating from high school.
The youngest son was accepted to the same university the eldest attends, but he cancelled his enrollment, thinking there would be no funds to pay for his education this year. He decided he’d go to a local community college instead. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing one’s education at a local community college – but what did feel wrong to me was the reason for the choice to cancel the enrollment at the university. The choice had been based on a sense of limitation – a fear of lack – and all summer this fear seemed to permeate the atmosphere in our home.
Weirdly – considering it was my decision to leave my job that was the cause of the fears among my family members – the fear that attached itself to my loved ones almost completely disappeared from my own thoughts within a very short time after making my decision. My thoughts suddenly open to all the good surrounding me, good began unfolding beautifully in my life. Unexpected opportunities arose for me – wonderful experiences and blessings that I never could have foreseen poured into my life.
But still… I had concerns for my youngest. He took the human steps he needed to take to prepare for the new school year – he visited local community colleges, took placement tests, had his AP test scores sent out – but at one point, about a month ago, he confided in me that he really wished he was going to the university with his older brother. There was a feeling of not-quite-right-ness about the direction his life seemed to be going.
What an opportunity for spiritual growth! I had to work on putting aside my own willfulness and fears about my son’s future, and trust that whatever path he took, or direction he went, he would have whatever experiences and supply he needed for his life to unfold in a harmonious and healthy way. I had to remind myself, daily, that good isn’t dependent on some specific form – on some specific school or choice. Good isn’t dependent on money. It’s here and now. And finally I reached a place, in my own thoughts, of acceptance for whatever choice my son made. I let it all go. It was, I realized, his life – and I needed to allow him to have his own life experience without interference from me.
***
Then something really wonderful happened.
A letter came in the mail from the university my son had originally wanted to attend, offering him a sizable chunk in grant monies to attend school there! But he’d already cancelled his enrollment.
Would it be too late for him to re-enroll? My son and I spent the day making phone calls and sending off emails – emails that bounced back to us, and calls to people who weren’t available. I began to feel anxious again.
The next morning, needing to find peace about it all, I asked my husband if he would make some calls to the university before he left for work – I needed to get away for a couple hours and take a walk. I told my husband that if he couldn’t get through, I would pick up where he left off after I returned. He agreed to make the calls, and I took myself to my favorite walking path along the bay and opened my thoughts up to all the good around me. Sailboats bobbed happily around on the water, dogs played in the waves, the boardwalk was full of smiling faces, and giggling children, and sunshine sparkled down on all. Once again, I acknowledged that good isn’t dependent on some specific form – this school or that school, this job or that job, this locale or that one – good is everywhere, always available, without limitation or boundary. Wherever my son is, good is there. But it also occurred to me that there was absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t be re-admitted to the university – nothing could stand in the way of a right idea. I knew no matter what happened everything would be alright. In fact, I knew, everything already WAS alright.
When I returned from my walk, my husband told me that he’d called the university, been connected to a woman in the admissions office, and that our son had been re-admitted to the university.
Within the day he was signed up for Orientation, had reserved a dorm room, and was officially enrolled at the university. A week later he and his older brother pulled out of our driveway, the car loaded with books, school supplies, bedding, clothes, and other assorted sundries, heading towards a new year of adventure and learning at the university.
There is no way we could have planned for things to unfold as they did. There is also no way we could have planned things any better if we’d tried. All that was needed from us was the willingness to open our thoughts up to the infinite possibilities and embrace them.
“We were all absurdly out of place here, like a seahorse in the desert, or a flower on the moon. A dread began to form in my mind, an unformed thought that I was not yet able to verbalize: Life is an anomaly here, and the mountains will tolerate that anomaly for only so long.” – Nando Parrado
***
I just finished reading Miracle in the Andes, by Nando Parrado. This first-person account of the almost-insurmountable challenges faced by the survivors of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains (first recounted in the book, Alive) was really powerful. I was going to say that reading this book transformed me – but that’s not quite right. Reading about other peoples’ transforming experiences doesn’t really transform us – but it serves to connect us to them. Although few of us have ever experienced the depth of suffering that Nando and his fellow survivors experienced in the Andes, most of us can relate, in at least a small way, to feelings of grief, hopelessness, and the need to “carry on ” even when the odds seem stacked against us. Reading *Miracle in the Andes* was oddly reassuring to me – it made me realize that none of us is alone in our challenges – that others have struggled against odds that seemed impossible, and survived. Reading about Nando’s struggles and incredible perserverance against all odds, helped validate, for me, the lessons and small triumphs of my own life.
I connected to the spirituality of this book. It was written by a man who no longer believes in the traditional God of his religious upbringing. He writes: “…I did not feel God as most people see Him. I did feel something larger than myself, something in the mountains and the glaciers and the glowing sky that, in rare moments, reassured me, and made me feel that the world was orderly and loving and good… It was simply a silence, a wholeness, an awe-inspiring simplicity. It seemed to reach me through my own feelings of love, and I have often thought that when we feel what we call love, we are really feeling our connection to this awesome presence.” A little later, he writes: “It wasn’t cleverness or courage or any kind of competence or savvy that saved us, it was nothing more than love, our love for each other, for our families, for the lives we wanted so desperately to live.”
I guess that’s what stands out for me in this book – this acknowledgement of the power and presence of love, and our connection to our fellow beings. Through all the struggles and challenges, love was the one thing that kept Nando going. He committed to using every ounce of energy left to him to move his body closer to his home and father.
As Arturo Nogueira, a fellow plane crash survivor, tells Nando: “I want you to remember, even in this place, our lives have meaning. Our suffering is not for nothing. Even if we are trapped here forever, we can love our family, and God, and each other as long as we live. Even in this place, our lives are worth living.”
So long as we can love, our lives have meaning. So long as we can love, our lives are worth living.
***
“God is Love. Can we ask Him to be more?” – from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
…they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. – Isaiah 40: 31
***
Did you know that the word “competition” actually comes from the Latin word, “competere” – which means to “strive together”? Instead of looking at a competition as a battle between individuals, we might see in competition individuals who are all striving together towards a common goal – who share the same aspiration. I think that’s kind of cool.
You’ve probably heard the story of Luz Long and Jesse Owens and their competition in the long jump at the 1936 Olympics. I think Jesse and Luz give us a wonderful example of what a competition between two world-class athletes should look like…
Luz was competing in the Olympics for the German team, Jesse was competing for the American team. Jesse, an African-American, had embarrassed Hitler when he’d won the 100 meter race, beating out members of Hitler’s “master race” to win the gold medal. The next day he was close to getting disqualified in the long jump competition, after fouling on his first two jumps. This is when Luz Long introduced himself to Jesse, and suggested Jesse make his third (and final) attempt two inches before the takeoff board. Owens followed Long’s advice and qualified for the competition. By the end of the day, the competition had come down to a match between Jesse and Luz. On his last jump, Jesse won the gold medal. In spite of Hitler’s disapproval, Luz was the first to congratulate Jesse. Of Long, Owens said, “It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler. You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment. Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace. The sad part of the story is I never saw Long again. He was killed in World War II.” (http://www.sportsfeelgoodstories.com/2009/04/14/jesse-owens-and-luz-long-%E2%80%94-olympic-heroes-1936/)
Long and Owens are still remembered and honored some 70 years later – not because they were the two “best” long jumpers in 1936 – but because of the class, humanity, and nobility they both expressed that day.
***
As I watch the 2012 Olympics, I see a lot of world-class good being expressed – and the good I see being expressed isn’t just limited to the athletes who “win.” In fact, it isn’t limited to the athletes at all. I see love and joy being expressed by the people who cheer the athletes on. I see generosity and self-sacrifice in the support the athletes’ loved ones give to them. I see intelligence and wisdom expressed by the people behind-the-scenes who organize and maintain the event. I see beauty and grace and coordination expressed everywhere at the Olympics – and it’s not just the athletes who are expressing those things.
The Olympics provide a wonderful opportunity to “competere” – to “strive together” to express fully the beauty, grace, strength, generosity, and kindness of Love, God.
***
““Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality – infinite Life, Truth, and Love.” –
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
As a young child, a loved one suffered heart damage as a result of rheumatic fever. Apparently she was supposed to have lived a quiet and sheltered life. She did not. She climbed Mount Rainier twice, got married, birthed and raised three children, traveled, sang, gardened, hiked, taught, and led a very full and active life.Last week, eighty years after the rheumatic fever, this loved one finally underwent open heart surgery to repair her heart.
The surgery was performed at a hospital two hours to the south of where I live. When I was booking a room in a hotel near there – The Inn at Gig Harbor – I mentioned that I was going to be there to be close to a dear family member while she underwent open heart surgery. The woman making the reservation for me got quiet for a moment. When she spoke again it was to tell me that she would be giving me a discount on my room, and she said that there was a suite, that was “just sitting there” and not being used that had a jacuzzi in it, and she was going to put me in that room because she figured I’d need a jacuzzi. I was speechless for a moment – overcome by her kindness and generosity.
When, a couple of days later, I drove down to the hotel to check in, I was very excited to meet Theresa Ready – the woman who had taken such good care of me in reserving my room. Her daughter was at the desk, and she told me she’d get her mom for me. Theresa came out of the back room to meet me, and she had tears in her eyes as she smiled at me. “No one ever asks to see me,” she said, “I’m just an accountant.” That cracked me up. This woman who was “just an accountant” was, it was obvious to me, a woman of great love and compassion, and I felt really privileged to meet her. We hugged, and she wished me all the best for my loved one, and said she’d pray for her.
I had to leave for the hospital at 4:30 the next morning, and, knowing I would miss breakfast, the hotel packed up a box full of muffins, scones, yogurt, and juice to get me through the morning.
I wore my sparkly green fairy wings into the hospital – I knew my loved one would get a kick out of that – she and I share the same sense of humor about stuff – and, sure enough, she started laughing as soon as she saw me. Other family members were there, too, and we encircled our dear one with love and the confidence that all would be well.
The next eight hours passed in kind of a blurr. Probably anyone who’s been in the hospital for any length of time understands what I mean by that. It’s a kind of surreal atmosphere – long stretches of wandering, chatting, reading, and – in these modern times – connecting to the hospital’s free WiFi to communicate with the outside world – punctuated by quick, intense moments when an update comes through. Time disappears.
It was a sunny day, and there were several times when I needed to escape from the confines of the hospital and get some fresh air and sunshine, and see what was going on in the world outside. On one of my escapes, I walked several blocks into the sun, passed a school, and to a community garden. There were a couple of women in the garden – one of them planting seeds, and the other taking pictures of her – and I asked them if it would be okay if I opened up the gate and came inside. They looked at me and smiled and welcomed me in. And this is when I met Akkima, the photographer. Akkima is a student at the University of Washington, Tacoma Campus, majoring in Media. Her assignment that day was to photograph her friend, the gardener. I told Akkima that I’m married to a photojournalist, and that I, too, have recently gotten interested in photography, and we shared our mutual enjoyment of capturing images and talked about that for awhile. And, of course, we had to take pictures of each other.
I was reluctant to move from the hospital’s lobby – there was a fountain and windows to the outside and sunshine – but eventually those of us who hadn’t yet moved into the hospital’s surgical waiting room joined our other family members there and settled in to await news. There was another family, in the space next to us, also awaiting news about their loved one. I was impressed by how well-behaved the little children were while they waited. Frankly, they seemed to be doing better than me. I’m not very good at sitting and waiting in somber silence. This is not to say I don’t appreciate quiet and stillness – because I do, for sure – but not when there’s interesting people around me – I have a yearning to find out about them and make a connection with them – and this family waiting next to us was interesting. I brought my glittery green fairy wings up to the little girl and asked her if she’d like to put them on for awhile – she shyly shook her head no – she wanted no part of the fairy wings. However, the young man standing next to her agreed to put on the fairy wings for me. I’m not sure how old he was – my guess would be early twenties – and let’s just say that he was not built the way a generic fairy is built – and he and I and his entire family started cracking up when he allowed me to put those wings on him.
I’m happy to say that not long after he donned the fairy wings for me, the young man and his family heard good news about their grandmother’s operation. It had gone well, and things were looking good.
Eventually, we learned that the surgery for our loved one was finished, and that, although she wasn’t out of the woods, yet, things were looking good for her.
My family and I went up to her room after the operation – when she was still unconscious and sedated. I started singing some of her favorite hymns from The Christian Science Hymnal to her. “Oh dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking…” I sang (to the tune of “Oh, Danny Boy”) and then, joking, I asked her, “Wasn’t that beautiful?” and – much to the surprise of all – she nodded her head twice!!! I think this is when I knew everything was going to be alright. “And for my next number…” I said, and I’m pretty sure she was trying to laugh. She was back!!!
“EARTH. A sphere; a type of eternity and immortality, which are likewise without beginning or end…To material sense, earth is matter; to spiritual sense, it is a compound idea.” – Mary Baker Eddy
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth…And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” – Genesis 1: 31
“For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55: 12
***
Today I celebrate all of my Father-Mother God’s beautiful creation – all the glories of forest and meadow, mountain and sea, desert and valley and dale. I celebrate the infinite expression of God, Good – the beauty, harmony, and life that are evidence and proof of Good. Today I recognize and appreciate The Artist’s work, I rejoice in it, take note of it, and re-commit myself to protecting it.
On Mount Harvard in Colorado
Superstition Mountains, AZ
***
“Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love, but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, – all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light.” – Mary Baker Eddy
“Presence is needed to become aware of the beauty, the majesty, the sacredness of nature…You have to put down for a moment your personal baggage of problems, of past and future, as well as your knowledge; otherwise, you will see but not see, hear but not hear. Your total presence is required.” – from The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
