Editorial November 3, 1945 Issue

Habits and Spontaneity

Paul Stark Seeley

The writer who said, "To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be," overstated his case, for though there are many bad habits, there are some good ones. Perhaps the writer wished to arouse men to recognize that habits may easily become a deadening influence, a drug to originality and a closed door to spontaneity.

Almost everyone acquires rather a long list of habits. There are the habits that pertain to dress and diet, to one's speech, to one's attitude toward those around him, toward the world at large, and many others. Often we approach problems in a certain way from force of habit. This "force of habit" is a questionable influence. Some get sick and some sin according to habit. Others criticize, condemn, fear, and worry because it is their habit. Still others are selfish and willful according to habit. Much of one's daily acts and words might be described by saying, "He is in the habit of doing so."

Christian Science encourages us to take stock often, to examine ourselves, and see what we are accepting as our sense of life and selfhood. This of course includes a revaluation of the habits we have consented to make ours. It should include a determination to rid ourselves of all the habits detrimental to our spiritual progress. We should refuse to believe that we are "creatures of habit," because we know man is the reflection of God. The spontaneity of Life and Love is constantly expressed in the thought and activity of man.

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