Article April 1, 1972 Issue

Is Good "Out There" or "In Here"?

JAMES K. KYSER

"If only I had a different job or lived in a different neighborhood or could locate in a different climate!" Such complaints are common enough, as if merely moving one's body would of itself bring the desired results. But would it? Christian Science points out that all inharmony is the objectification of discordant thought. And wouldn't one take his inharmonious thinking wherever he went? The scientific and permanent way to dispel such "Oh, if only" suggestions is not just to get away from unpleasant circumstances but to draw near to God in one's own thought—the place to meet any problem.

The answer is not to straighten out other people, either. This was proved by a Christian Scientist who found herself thinking, "Oh, if only my husband would just be more thoughtful and yield a point now and then, things would be different!" Quickly she corrected her thought. She reasoned: "Christ Jesus taught that 'the kingdom of God is within you.'^{Luke 17:21;} Then the harmony and unity I long for are already within me to be understood and enjoyed. They belong to my God-endowed consciousness, reflecting the one divine Mind. What's needed is a change in my thinking, not in my husband's."

So she resolved to take Godlike qualities out of the attic of theory and utilize them, to express the divine attributes inherent in her as God's own child. These she desired to live with.

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