Article May 22, 1978 Issue

"I saw that sensuality was a decoy..."

The redhead on the bus

BRETT L. STAFFORD

I boarded a crowded city bus. At the next stop I noticed a strikingly attractive woman with long red hair. Wow, I thought, and glued my eyes on her. I was in a trance; could I snap out of it?

A couple of years earlier I had increased my commitment to Christian Science. My hours had been freer, which allowed me to spend a sizable portion of each day in prayer and in studying the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings. I had devoted specific time to the subject of "attraction." I had learned that true attraction is wholly spiritual, originating in God.

What happened on the bus? At least temporarily I had allowed myself to be tugged away from the scientific truth of man, who is spiritual, complete. I stooped to typical materialistic thinking. Not that there's anything wrong with appreciating human beauty, for it can echo the divine. But I was indulging in an almost overwhelming focus on mortal personality, a material structure, all very dazzling to me.

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