Mary Baker Eddy tells us in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 230), "Rushing around smartly is no proof of accomplishing much." And in the same article she writes, "Success in life depends upon persistent effort, upon the improvement of moments more than upon any other one thing."

At one time, a Christian Scientist seemed to have so many demanding duties that she could not perform all of them. There did not seem to be time for ample study of the Lesson-Sermon as outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly, time for daily meditation, or metaphysical work, or time for reading the Christian Science periodicals. The more she worked, the more work seemed to pile up, leaving less and less time available for study.

In thinking about this problem, she came to the realization that while she had been exceedingly busy, she had not been truly active. She had become busy to the point of confusion, too busy for spiritual activity. Immediately she began to think of herself as being active instead of merely busy, and to know that the activity of the Christ is unlimited and never tiring, and that she, as God's idea, must reflect this untiring, unlimited activity. She reasoned that if God did the directing, and she was willing to listen and to follow, there was bound to be time for right activity, and unnecessary busyness would be eliminated.

Soon she found that instead of outlining each day's tasks in the order of their seeming importance, she ceased to classify them, and she let God do the outlining. Each morning a period was devoted to study before taking up the duties of the day. She was able to see herself and others in a spiritual light, and after listening for God's direction she proceeded to act accordingly. Within a very short time, she was able to take care of the duties that before had seemed insurmountable and in addition to include other duties.

Every government, every business, ever individual, must give consideration to right activity, if harmony and progress are to be expressed. At times the affairs of government, of business, and of individuals seem to become complex and time consuming. When this occurs, the need is to devote more time to right mental activity and less to outward busyness.

A wide difference exists between being humanly busy and being truly active. One may believe he is busy when actually he is merely in motion, making no progress. It might be said that right activity consists of three steps, namely spiritual seeing, spiritual hearing, and spiritual doing.

We must first see ourselves and our fellow men as actually God's ideas, reflecting only that which is good. Since God created man in His own image and everything He created was very good, it follows that man, as the son of God, also must express only good. In the Bible we read of God (Hab. 1:13), "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." This means that human faults and weaknesses are unknown to God. In His kingdom, only the good is real; therefore anything less than perfection is unreality. By starting each day's activities with the realization of the perfection of God's man, we see the evidence of Godlike qualities in our human experiences, and we are able to prove in an increasing degree that God's kingdom is come "in earth, as it is in heaven."

Spiritual hearing demands listening for God's voice. Sometimes we do not hear it because human desire and human planning prevent us from recognizing it. We must be willing to lay aside human will and its plans and earnestly desire to be obedient to God's will. Then we shall joyfully and clearly hear the voice of divine Love. We have clean, clear windows in our homes in order to let in the light and to see the outside beauty clearly. So it is with human experience. We must clear from consciousness the fog of purely human outlining in order to let in the light of Truth.

Spiritual seeing and hearing would be of no benefit if they were not followed by spiritual doing. Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 283), "Mind is the source of all movement, and there is no inertia to retard or check its perpetual and harmonious action." Expressing Mind's activity is not tiring, because there is no limit to spiritual energies, and there is no material law which can annul our God-given power to rest in the truth. Any argument to the contrary is aggressive mental suggestion, against which we must defend ourselves daily, as our Leader counsels us.

John the Baptist once sent two of his disciples to inquire of Jesus concerning "the works of Christ" and asked (Matt. 11:3), "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Jesus' answer leaves, no doubt about the unceasing activity of the Christ. He said, "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."

Thus we find that through spiritual seeing, spiritual hearing, and spiritual doing we can improve our moments by ceasing to be merely humanly busy and becoming spiritually active. Our Leader states in answer to the question "Now, what saith Christian Science?" (Message to The Mother Church for 1900, p. 3): "'When a man is right, his thoughts are right, active, and they are fruitful; he loses self in love, and cannot hear himself, unless he loses the chord. The right thinker and worker does his best, and does the thinking for the ages. No hand that feels not his help, no heart his comfort. He improves moments; to him time is money, and he hoards this capital to distribute gain.'"