Thriving in the light

Thriving in the sunlight
even when it's overcast!

In the last post, we talked about buckthorn – that invasive non-native species that clutters up forests in the American Midwest – and how it is a metaphor for whatever would clutter our thinking. All human clutter is non-native to man as God’s loved spiritual idea.

It’s exciting to see the results once that clutter is removed. The most obvious result is light! Light everywhere – to the left, to the right, and in between. With all this light, the forest’s natural beauty reappears. Where underbrush grabbed at your legs a year ago, wildflowers bask in newly discovered space and sunshine.

To push the light metaphor a little further, you and I are not that different from the flowers – insofar as we thrive in the light of our creator’s love for us.

The non-native invasive species of anger, envy, hate, resentment create an unnatural shade in which life becomes a struggle.

It takes persistent commitment to remove the over-competitive buckthorn. Also, on the mental and spiritual level, it takes persistent commitment to a God of Love to remove invasive species from our lives, so we can thrive and be as beautiful and useful and joyous as He/She intends.

Seeing the forest by removing the clutter

Notice how you can see distant treetrunks

-- because (except for the person sitting on the log)

there is no clutter!

In the Chicago area, we are blessed with somebody’s foresight decades ago – to set aside green areas now known as the Cook County Forest Preserves. These are acres and acres of green space scattered around this big county, that include picnic tables, fields, forests, trails, and ponds.

Nearby counties have followed suit, and most have their own Forest Preserves as well.

The villain in this happy picture is buckthorn. Buckthorn was brought to America from Europe in the 1800s because it made good hedges. It also thrived and became a problem because it out-competes native vegetation. Its leaves become green earliest in the spring, and create dense shade that native flowers and plants cannot tolerate.

Forest Preserves frequently tap volunteers to help remove these hardy pests, and follow up with controlled burns. These prescribed fires remove ground litter like dead leaves and branches that would otherwise accumulate to become fuel for an unplanned and uncontrolled fire.

It’s been exciting to see some amazing results. Walking through controlled burn areas, you can actually see between the trees without the clutter of invasive buckthorn. Only the litter is gone. The tree trunks haven’t even been scorched. In spring tiny and magnificent wild flowers actually keep growing because they have light. Harmful insects that live in Buckthorn are also gone.

So I got to thinking, buckthorn can be a metaphor for our lives. It’s something that isn’t native to us, that out-competes what is natural to us, by cutting off the light of God’s goodness.

What’s natural to mankind as the likeness of a universally present God, are qualities like patience, kindness, thoughtfulness, wisdom.

The buckthorn of life would be anger, hate, resentment, jealousy, impatience, self-importance. If indulged, these take over and snuff out our innate intelligence and caring.

Sometimes we realize what’s going on, and we voluntarily dig out the roots of the buckthorn that’s messing up our life view.

Other times, our Father-Mother starts a controlled burn that removes the clutter of rage and criticism – without harming us. We may resist the heat and the smoke, but it is so much easier to fulfill our purpose in this world when the buckthorn has been uprooted and the clutter burned.

That’s when we can look around and see how very beautiful life is. That's when we gain a better sense of our value and discover new opportunities to contribute to the infinite scheme of life.

A way to go forward

Michael Todd wrote, “I’ve never been poor, only broke. Being poor is a frame of mind. Being broke is only a temporary situation.”

That’s good to remember today. Many people who were kids during the depression in this country say they never knew they were poor. Everyone in the family worked and pooled their meager earnings, but the parents didn’t complain and the kids grew up happy. Only later did they realize they had been “poor.”

I’m grateful for the leadership in the US government today regarding the troubled financial market. From what I have read, had there been strong government leadership eight decades ago, the depression could have been averted.

There is a law of intelligence at work, a law of infinite economy that overrides all else. Mankind, with all our bickering and quibbling and even good intentions, cannot delay a right idea at the right time. The spiritual power that provides the solution to a human dilemma carries that solution through. It finds willing hearts and uses them for universal good, perhaps including tweaking and editing the present proposal.

Here’s a profound statement that rings true when we throw the weight of our own thinking and actions on the side of good only:

Evil has neither place nor power
in the human or the divine economy.
Mary Baker Eddy

Is it our nature to do good?

I believe it is man's nature to be and do good.

Sometimes that goodness has to be sought and nurtured for it to find its expression.

I just read a first-hand account written by one who, as a young man, served in the Air Force during the Vietnam and Cold War years. His post was in Japan at an understaffed air defense missile site and, as a lowly Specialist, he was also the senior enlisted person in the missile section.

Distressed by the troubled state of his world, he had begun reading the Bible and Science and Health, trying to make some sense out of his life in relation to these conflicts. A military chaplain and his wife befriended the young man, and he began to feel a quiet and gentle sense of love and support. He was finding meaning for his life and growing spiritually.

In his military assignment, he and his crew responded to many alerts each day, prepared to shoot down unauthorized aircraft. Usually the planes triggering these alerts were identified within a couple of minutes, and the alert was cancelled. However one day his crew was startled to have progressed to the final seconds of the final countdown. The aircraft had not identified itself as either “friend or foe.”

To add to the confusion, the command center that would give the final orders - was unexplainably silent. While his fellow crewmen were shouting at him to fire the missile, he prayed to God to know what to do, and it came to him very clearly to not fire. So he aborted the missile. In violation of all his orders, he went to find out what was going on in the command center about a mile away.

There he discovered the soldier managing the alert had physically collapsed, and no one knew he was not fulfilling his job. The plane in question was a troop carrier full of GIs who, had they known, would have been very grateful they had not been shot down. The young man was praised for his unusual actions that day which saved many lives.

So yes, each of us matters. Each of us has wonderful potential to make a difference for good - although perhaps not as dramatically as that airman. Even so we each have the ability to be and do good things in our lives that bless not only us, but those around us.

What counts most is an honest desire to do right. What shapes and moves that desire involves discovering something of our relationship to God, Father-Mother Mind, the creator of the universe who knows and loves each of us, trusting that relationship, and letting it move us forward.

____________________________

The account referred to can be found in a newly published book,
The Christian Science Military Ministry: 1917-2004,
by Kim M. Schuette, starting on page 127.

Brockton Publishing Company, Indianpolis, IN
1-317-487-6868
brocktonpublishing@sbcglobal.net

What can I do?

Goal - to end recidivism in Cook County

The Cook County Sheriff’s Department sponsored a Community Outreach conference this morning. The thriving African-American Apostolic Church of God on Chicago’s south side hosted the event.

I attended because my church in DuPage County received an invitation, and because we have a prison ministry.

This was not another ho-hum run-of-the-mill meeting. Sheriff Tom Dart is a man with a mission, who has a vision for the successful re-entry of ex-offenders into their communities. He sees the churches in these communities as the means for embracing ex-offenders, helping them find housing and jobs, thus keeping them from going back to prison.

One of the speakers pointed out that the Bible is a book about prison ministry. From Joseph in Genesis to John on the island of Patmos writing Revelation, from the prophet Jeremiah to the apostle Paul – in other words, from cover to cover – the Bible is the story of a lot of imprisoned people.

The conference’s passionate and committed speakers deeply touched my heart. The contrast with my relatively secure life was sharp. In my community we tell our kids, if you are lost, find a policeman. In the Chicago’s African-American community, they tell their kids, whatever you do avoid any contact with the police. For this community, police equals jail.

I don’t live where the disproportionate African-American prison population returns when they go “home.” I wondered what I could do for this project.

One thing I can do right now is to put “those imprisoned” at the top of my revised prayer agenda. I can pray that the one Mind who inspires community leaders with re-entry programs also inspires the complete idea for these programs, including support and resources.

Through my prayers I can support the courage of these prison chaplains, and through prayer also bolster justice and honesty within the law enforcement system.

Change has begun in the Sheriff’s Department, and that’s no small accomplishment. God, supreme infinite Mind, overrides fear, indifference and apathy, and provides Her own spokespersons.

Saturday Night Live, and better

“Saturday Night Live” recently offered a presentation of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton in a rare joint-appearance blasting sexism in the media.

It was a spoof, of course. The two actresses playing the politicians had a wonderful time. The barbed remarks balanced out, as near as I could tell, amid much cleverness and fun.

Intelligent silliness refreshes these pre-election weeks, while the real campaign ads unsubtly avoid discussing issues by attacking the opponents.

So where does this political muck leave you and me – average citizens chiefly interested in an honest government, in paying our bills and having something left over?

Too many Americans, soured by the mud-slinging, turn their backs on the political process and mentally walk away.

There is an alternative. It involves refusing to become cynical and turning instead to what Christ Jesus described as the Kingdom of heaven within us. He provoked his listeners with the startling statement that the Kingdom of heaven wasn’t out there someplace, but within consciousness.

Jesus lived when the Jewish community was occupied by no non-sense Roman troops. Yet he showed how we can find peace and stability in our lives through discovering God’s goodness and presence – despite economic slumps and political infighting.

Have you ever noticed how refusing to engage in debate, how mentally stepping back and listening for what the one infinite Mind is saying, often transforms or defuses heated words? It’s true.

Next time you encounter an emotional discussion, try mentally extricating yourself and turning to the Maker of the universe for good ideas. God gives us the ability to make this decision, and see more of His/Her present government already at hand.

For more ideas on how to pray about dealing with election exhaustion, click here.

Beyond the mess, a Master plan

Puddles, posts, stakes --
is it a hopeless mess?

In this case, the mess is not the remains of Hurricane Ike or a clear-cut forest, or a kid’s room; it’s a carefully thought-out project.

The fire station next door is getting a new home. We’ll be sorry to lose them, as the firemen have been good neighbors. The new location just around the corner, like any construction project, has plenty of interested observers.

First heavy equipment broke into chunks and removed the blacktop lot that had served for storing village vehicles.

By this weekend the pile driver had driven many posts into the excavated area leaving them sticking up at unexplainably odd and various heights. Flagged stakes sprout among the posts. Serious puddles increase as weekend rain continues. More posts remain to be pounded Monday. A newly delivered green porta-potty sits adjacent to a hill of excavated gravel.

In short, it’s a mess.

And this is where the planning comes in. An artist’s rendering fastened to the chain-link fence shows how the new fire station will look – more than double the space of their present quarters.

The vision that will
eventually replace the mess!

It’s important during the mud-and puddle-phase to keep the artist’s drawing in mind. Otherwise one might forget how to get from mess to beauty and utility. The foreman keeps the vision foremost in thought as each step is undertaken. He or she continually checks the blueprints to make sure the details are exactly as planned.

Anybody who’s remodeled, or painted their walls, or installed new flooring or carpets can appreciate the planned disorder that leads eventually to beauty and progress.

But what if the disorder in our lives isn't planned? Sometimes kids or adults go through rough times, maybe the result of poor decisions, or of ignorance.

Those feeling the brunt of Gustav or Ike, whether their address is Galveston, Houston, Cuba, or Haiti, might well feel their lives are in shambles.

It’s important to remember there is a Master plan for each of us, and what we are observing is not the end of the project. Our prayers can contribute to the steps that reveal that Master plan in each life.

The God who is infinitely intelligent Love knows what needs to happen to keep His/Her creation aligned with beauty, order, and goodness. This universal Mind ceaselessly acts as law for His/Her creation, moving each of us along to find our groove, our natural harmony with God and the universe.

So don’t give up on the mess in your life. Consult the Master plan, or find someone whose love and wisdom assures you that they understand it. Many feel Christ Jesus is one such individual.

Then make choices to move in the direction that conforms to that ideal. Be satisfied with one good step at a time. You will get there in one piece, maybe sooner than you think.

For helpful ideas about praying for those in the path of hurricanes, click here.

Interrelatedness

Monet-like quality in the Koi pond

The perfect autumn afternoon beckoned, and the boys were reluctant to come. Their dad’s office party was happening at their home, and they were curious to see who would be coming, and what might be happening.

That party was precisely the reason we were leaving, so the grown-ups could have their grown-up party.

We picked up Les on our way to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Glen Ellyn. She instantly and cheerfully improved the ratio to one-to-one, one boy to one adult.

The grandsons are city boys, so I look for opportunities to introduce them to nature and to the creatures who live in the forests and fields.

We saw animals that wouldn’t be released due to injuries that would prevent their successful hunting – golden eagles, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, barn owls, great-horned owls, a bobcat, raccoons, and foxes –in large circular cages carefully furnished with various-sized branches and box-like structures for dens.

Red-tail hawk on an outing

The boys were keenly interested in the young woman volunteer sporting a magnificent red-tail hawk on her gloved arm. She answered their questions with skill and respect for the wild bird on her glove.

Why this treasure in the middle of suburbia? Someone had the vision to save the forests – at least parts of them. What a gift these green expanses are to us, our children and grandchildren.

I am gleaning from that afternoon that everything fits together as ideas in one universal Mind. Not as wounded, recovering, or impaired animals, but each one a spiritual idea already complete in Mind.

There were glimpses of everything related – the foresight for establishing Forest Preserves, the dedication to create and fund the Center, the people who staff it, volunteers who serve, public who come to learn; a sense of peace, order, and beauty, hope and caring.

These are spiritual qualities, natural to all mankind. We had our own party, our celebration of creatures special and wonderful.

Curiosity expands horizons

New friends

This email arrived today. Other than a series of photos, there was no story, no location, no identification.

Deer multiplying with no natural enemies reek havoc, we’re told, on crops and environment.

I'm not saying it's good or bad to make friends with deer. Yet it is still an adventure when wild and domestic meet in respect, curiosity, and trust.

In other photos, these folks are luring the young buck with a tasty apple. He was clearly curious himself about the people and their dogs.

The person who sent the email had labeled it “One harmonious family.”

Who to vote for?

Palin - a feisty VP choice

Who to vote for?

The Democrats made a point of giving Americans hope for change.

The Republicans are emphasizing experience and proven ability to work across the aisle (in the Senate – being able to work with the opposition to get laws passed).

In a different context a friend told me the other day of a business colleague who had been promoted to a major management position. However, this person came with no management experience. He was, she said, making a lot of disastrous “beginner mistakes.”

There are so many unanswered questions. How can we tell who will make the best decisions in such an uncertain and interrelated world?

Well, history can be helpful. New Testament Bible history, specifically. Jesus didn’t get involved in politics. When his life hung in the balance, and he was asked if he was indeed a king, Jesus replied that his kingdom wasn’t of this world.

While Jesus paid taxes, his concern was that people find a new and loving relationship with their God that in turn leads to greater caring, more honesty, less selfishness. He taught people to lean on that God – Spirit, Truth, Love – for their needs.

Not bad advice today.

We can pray that this one infinitely wise Mind governs this and all other nations as they co-elbow for equality and respect among the countries of the world. That no matter who is elected, that person and his administration be controlled by one infinite intelligence that unites rather than divides, that brings the spiritual qualities needed for good leadership.

We can all pray to support a righteous government.