Article January 17, 1914 Issue

A Lesson from the Palm

DAISY CYNTHIA WOOD

Mrs. Eddy has written that "the floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity" (Science and Health, p. 240), and the significance of this statement was recently brought to the writer by a friend's story about a plant. A palm, long loved and cherished, began to turn brown, wither, and lose all semblance of life. Careful nursing seemed of no avail, and finally, the leaves having become dry and sear, the owner regretfully decided to dispense with it the next day, when, behold! a light from the chandelier chanced to fall upon the top of the withered palm, and disclosed a pure white bud ready to burst forth into a beautiful flower. Cutting the plant to the earth, and stripping the stalk of its withered husks, she placed it in a jar of water, whereupon the flower unfolded in radiant beauty and tender fragrance, to the delight of all who saw it. Moreover, out from the earth where the plant had been cut away sprang two tiny green shoots, revealing an inherent life which gave promise of future growth and fruitage. Through mute symbolism this floral apostle had brought its lesson of the ever-presence of Life.

Within each human consciousness there lies a seed of Truth which, when touched by the light of divine Love and nourished by the ministry of human kindness, will bud and blossom into a manifestation in us of the redemptive Christ-idea; and this because "Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud" (Science and Health, p. 518). This budding and blossoming into spiritual beauty and efficiency is realized in human experience in proportion to our right thought, our realization of the at-one-ment with good of every spiritual idea. This gradually outgrows all the husks of past wrong thinking, malice, hatred, selfishness, fear, the false beliefs which claim that man is separate from God, good, and, behold! the full-blown flowers of spiritual consciousness, veritable apostles of Deity.

In every phase of human experience, as we truly seek we shall find the seed of Truth which, nurtured and developed in pure thought, results in the flowering of a budded promise as the Mind that was in Christ is brought into manifestation. Neither the withered husks of past experiences nor the consuming heat of hatred can cover or blast the bud of Love's spiritual reflection. Even though the shadow of death may seem momentarily to cut to the earth of material sense a human blossom, with the passing of the shadow there will be revealed a new growth which gives promise of eternal life. As the empty husks of all material seeming gradually wither away, nothing remains but the living, vital flower of Truth's perfect idea.

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