Feb 12, 2004 |
by Annette Bridges
Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived my life waiting for vacation to vacation. In between each anticipated excursion, I would be dreaming, planning and longing. My very favorite vacation has taken me seaside. Throughout my childhood, a trip to the ocean was often as much for curative reasons than for a holiday. Anytime we were struggling with some difficulty or had a major decision looming, my mom would suggest a trip to the ocean in search of peace or solution.
Many an artist has tried to capture the ocean’s essence. Many a poet has told its stories. Many a writer has found inspiration in its presence. Does this wonder of nature contain some mysterious healing power in itself or does it remind thought of an infinite, omnipotent divine source that can uplift and heal us wherever we are?
I have sat for hours by the seaside enraptured by the vastness and infinity of the broad view. It’s something about the wideness of the sea and the constancy of the rolling waves that would make my soul sigh in contentment and quiet my mind in peaceful reflection. I love the way I feel when I vacation by the ocean and have often thought, “How can I take this peaceful feeling home with me?” “How can I go back home and find freedom from the stress of life’s chores and responsibilities?”
Words from a beloved hymn compare the wideness of God’s mercy to the wideness of the sea. I know that wideness encompasses me where I am, each moment of my life. God is not limited to a location. God is certainly with me at home as much as He is with me when on vacation.
Christ Jesus gave us wonderful instruction on how to pray. He said, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6)
I love to pray when sitting on the seashore. It’s like my closet. I shut my eyes to any troubles, fears or concerns. With each breath I take, I feel wrapped in God’s love. I hear the thunderous roar of waves crashing but at the same time I feel the order and rhythmic peaceful pattern of the waves rolling in. I think of a line from a poem written by author of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, where she states, “And o’er earth’s troubled, angry sea I see Christ walk, and come to me, and tenderly, divinely talk.” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896) I feel as if Christ Jesus has spoken to me and proclaimed, “Peace, be still.” It’s as if a thought whispers to me, “You are safe. You are not alone. You are whole. All is well. ” I open my eyes once again to the vastness of the scene before me. Whatever problem, fear or concern had been troubling me now seems very small, like a single grain of sand under my feet. There is clarity and there is calm.
The healing power of this prayer did not require sitting by the sea. I can follow Christ Jesus prayer instructions wherever I am. And I have. Whether I am working at my desk, sitting in a hospital waiting area, standing in line at the grocery store, or stuck in my car in a traffic jam. I enter into my closet, that quiet realm of my consciousness that knows God’s presence and love is with me and is as constant as the rolling waves and as infinite as the inexhaustible waters of the sea. I talk with God and hear the healing words needed in that moment. And again and again, there is clarity, there is calm, there is peace.
What were my questions? How can I take this peaceful feeling home with me? How can I go back home and find freedom from the stress of life’s chores and responsibilities?
Christ Jesus provided the answer. “Enter into thy closet.”
I know that Love, the Love that is God, is always with me as I travel my life journey. And I know this is true for my daughter and husband and for you, too. We can all feel the healing peace of God wherever we are and wherever we go.
Originally published in February 2004. ©Annette Bridges. All rights reserved.
Jan 12, 2004 |
by Annette Bridges
Made New Year resolutions you hope to accomplish? Goals you want to meet before another year passes? Starting instead with the present moment may set you on a path to reach your aspirations.
I think I’ve spent most of my life looking to the future to provide answers, opportunities, realized dreams. But no longer. Today, I have a new approach to how I want to live my life. It’s one that begins with moments, improves moments, and considers present possibilities – right now. I no longer want to put off for tomorrow what could be done today, said today, experienced today.
Mary Baker Eddy, author of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, has provided some instructive and helpful ideas on living in the present. There are two paragraphs taken from different articles she wrote that I have found especially helpful.
The first is from an article entitled “Improve Your Time:”
“Success in life depends upon persistent effort, upon the improvement of moments more than upon any other one thing. A great amount of time is consumed in talking nothing, doing nothing, and indecision as to what one should do. If one would be successful in the future, let him make the most of the present.” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883 – 1896)
The second is from “Now and Then:”
“This was an emphatic rule of St. Paul: “Behold, now is the accepted time.” A lost opportunity is the greatest of losses. Whittier mourned it as what “might have been.” We own no past, future, we possess only now. If the reliable now is carelessly lost in speaking or in acting, it comes not back again. Whatever needs to be done which cannot be done now, God prepares the way for doing; while that which can be done now, but is not, increases our indebtedness to God. Faith in divine Love supplies the ever-present help and now, and gives the power to “act in the living present.”” (Christian Science Sentinel May Vol.5)
So, I’m making now the focus of my life and here are a few of the ways it’s working:
- Unhappy with my current old home, unable to build a new house right now, I’ve begun improvements to make my home the best it can be. I’ve found present possibilities that showed me I don’t have to wait to build a new house to be happy where I live.
- I’m using money more productively today and finding ways to benefit others with it, too, rather than allowing thoughts of retirement, savings and children’s inheritance to dominate my life.
- Instead of constantly trying to loose pounds, now each day I’m focusing on achieving the balance and physical activity needed in my life.
- I’m taking time to read.
- I’m allowing time for reflection and meditation.
- I’m not missing opportunities to tell someone I love them.
- I’m listening attentively when a friend calls.
- And I’m taking breaks during the day to play with my puppy.
Living in the present has made me realize how many things I put off to do tomorrow which were never done. We own the now, this very moment. I don’t want to miss a moment of my life worrying about tomorrow. I think happiness is only found in the present moment and not in an uncertain future defined by possessions longed for or goals not yet reached. Making the decision to live my life in the now is already bringing contentment and peace of mind I never had before.
Originally published in January 2004. ©Annette Bridges. All rights reserved.
Dec 12, 2002 |
by Annette Bridges
One Christmas long ago, I discovered a priceless treasure in giving the gift of gratitude. My family has a long tradition of watching Bing Crosby’s White Christmas on Christmas Eve, and a song from that movie, “Count Your Blessings,” is a holiday favorite. One line is for me a humble reminder of that Christmas more than three decades ago: “When your bank roll is getting small, just think of when you had none at all, and you’ll fall asleep, counting your blessings.”
I was 10 years old the Christmas of 1968. My mom and I were traveling west from Georgia to escape the wrath of my dad after their divorce. We had little money, no income, no home, few clothes and no toys, and we were separated from other relatives. We spent Christmas hiding out in a trailer park.
We got a tiny Christmas tree. We had no stand, but we found a way to hang the tree from the ceiling. We had no decorations, but we strung popcorn and made paper garland.
It may sound gloomy, but I often think back on Christmas 1968 as the best of my childhood. I think my mom would say the same. But why?
By all appearances, we were in danger. We were living in a perilous time in bleak conditions. And yet my memory of that Christmas is a peace-filled one and, yes, a joyous one. I can’t tell you what gifts I got, although I’m sure that my mom managed to put a few under the tree. But I can tell you this much: We were safe, we were happy, we were expectant of a brighter tomorrow, and we were grateful to be safe and together and to have the promise of a new day.
Christmastime in any age brings the promise of a new day, a new birth, just as it did centuries ago. But Christmas 1968 became the special memory that it is because of the gift of gratitude my mom and I gave each other. In everything we did, in every moment we spent together, we were grateful. We were grateful for present moments, and we were grateful for whatever tomorrow would bring. Gratitude helped us to see what was right in our lives instead of what was wrong. And now, every year, I’m reminded that Bing’s advice to count your blessings is a good one, and not just at Christmastime.
There is a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal that speaks of a grateful heart. Three verses describe the grateful heart as a garden, a fortress and a temple. A grateful heart is a garden of comfort and peace that dispels anxiety and fear. A grateful heart is a fortress replacing feelings of helplessness and vulnerability with certainty and hope. A grateful heart is a temple of strength and courage that brings expectancy for better things.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, I have found that I give much more thought to what I am grateful for in my life, in my family, in my community, in my country. And I am finding that gratitude is moving me in directions I never considered before. Gratitude is shaping my decisions, my attitudes, my ideas, my actions, in ways that are more productive, more open, more unselfish. And gratitude is empowering me and inspiring me to look forward to each new day.
Try it. Give the gift of gratitude to yourself. And share gifts of gratitude with family and friends. They may be the most precious you give this year, and the most memorable.
Originally published in the Dallas Morning News, December 2002. ©Annette Bridges. All rights reserved.
