Article July 11, 1936 Issue

The Right Mental Picture

[Written Especially for Young People]

TERESE ROSE NAGEL

A young newspaper woman, a student of Christian Science, had been invited to a dinner party which she felt she was not interested in attending. It had been rumored that the company would not be congenial, and that a good time was not to be expected. Upon considering the situation, however, and on viewing it from an unselfish standpoint, she reasoned with herself that wherever she went God would guide her, and that wherever she was she could serve Him; that there was work for her to do wherever God, in His perfect wisdom, led her.

In her early days as a student of Christian Science, this writer had the habit of speaking much about herself and her journalistic work. This was done because of genuine enthusiasm for her profession. Often, however, this enthusiasm would be misunderstood by others. And thus she prayed daily for tempered zeal and for an earnest and sincere realization of the Psalmist's words, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." So she found herself gradually overcoming this false trait of unwise speech.

Upon arriving at the dinner party, she was placed next to a beginner in Christian Science who was also a newspaper writer. Her companion during the course of the evening kept conversing about herself and her work, about her accomplishments and success. Here the first writer saw a picture of her own early experience, when zeal and blind enthusiasm had been such an obstruction to harmony. She was also reminded on this occasion that in an article on "Contagion" in "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy states (p. 228), "Whatever man sees, feels, or in any way takes cognizance of, must be caught through mind." Here was a mental picture of her own thoughts. What was she to do with this picture on this occasion?

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