Rising above Environment

Long ago the Psalmist sang, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest;” and the cry has echoed down the centuries. It has always seemed the belief of mankind that if one were somewhere else, that if his surroundings or associates were changed, many of his difficulties would be removed. In the study of Christian Science, however, one learns the comforting and corrective truth that it is not necessary to make a change in location in order to gain health and happiness; one finds that what is needed to destroy discord is a change in one’s mental point of view. As this constructive thought transforms one’s basis of reasoning, many seemingly hard problems begin to be solved, and slowly but surely one comes to see that climatic conditions or varying temperaments should count for little.

In “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” (p. 480) Mrs. Eddy declares, “There is no place where God is not;” and this uplifting truth has brought health and happiness to numberless thousands. When one lifts his thoughts to God, he begins to apprehend that God is everywhere; and since it is evident that where God is no destructive force can exist, there is in reality nothing to fear. So, as one turns his thoughts faithfully to the tender Father of all, strives to hear the compassionate voice of divine Love and to obey its behests with the glad trust of a loving child, his environment changes. Realizing, in the words of a loved hymn, that

“In atmosphere of love divine,
We live, and move, and breathe,”

one forgets to notice from what direction the varying material winds may be blowing. Rejoicing in the fact that God is everywhere and there is nothing outside of infinity, one knows he cannot be separated from divine Love; and the old-time fears and discomforts fall away. Finally, one comes to understand that health is not gained through change of material environment, but, rather, through spiritualization of consciousness.

Is someone in the office impatient, peremptory, and unreasonable? Is someone in the home aggressive, inconsiderate, and annoying? If so, may one not see the unreality of these conditions, and through the understanding of the allness of divine Love avoid all such characteristics himself? Suppose conditions are unpleasant: if one persistently turns his thoughts lovingly to God, he soon will not notice the clamor of distracting and distracted thoughts.

A business woman whose office and home environments were particularly difficult, once received a picture of a very beautiful water lily. As she studied the grace and beauty of the pictured flower, she recalled a little pond where she had often gathered similar lovely lilies and enjoyed their fragrance. It had always given her much encouragement to reflect on the fact that these pure blossoms had their beginning amid mud or slime. Suddenly, she saw that environment need not count in the slightest. Like the pond lily, she too could grow steadfastly toward the light. The bud had not been deterred by annoying conditions. It did not restlessly go to and fro. Undisturbed by the growth of other plants, by the dark and unpleasantness about it, the lily worked steadily toward the light, until it unfolded its heart of gold in the sunshine and gladdened its environment with its beauty. With a grateful heart she realized that anyone who wishes to do so can rise above the sense of discordant environment. In Science and Health (pp. 520, 521) our Leader has given to all both lasting inspiration and sustaining confidence by her loving assurance: “Spirit acts through the Science of Mind, never causing man to till the ground, but making him superior to the soil. Knowledge of this lifts man above the sod, above earth and its environments, to conscious spiritual harmony and eternal being.”