One year seven white Chinese geese spent the summer in our large backyard. They waddled happily about nibbling grasses or napped together in the cool shade of a tall willow. A single electrified wire eight to ten inches off the ground was all that kept them restricted. They had quickly learned not to touch the wire. After several weeks we decided to save electricity and experiment with the power off. The geese stayed within the pen. Ignorant that the wire was now powerless, the birds were confined solely by mistaken belief!

As I observed the scene, I couldn't help comparing humanity to those geese. Too often we let mistaken beliefs fence us in. A limited sense of our ability may keep us from reaching some deeply cherished but perhaps far-distant goal. Too often we let the belief that we lack courage, initiative, intelligence, or talent put up walls around us.

Frequently time seems to form our "pen." If only we could stretch it, we think, we could accomplish more and greater things. And what about the barriers erected by shortage of funds, ill health, old age? In every case, the boundary has no real power; only our belief that it has power causes us to feel limitation. As Mrs. Eddy writes, "Sooner or later we shall learn that the fetters of man's finite capacity are forged by the illusion that he lives in body instead of in Soul, in matter instead of in Spirit." ^{Science and Health, p. 223.}

The belief that we are bound by lack of ability is proved powerless when we realize that as God's loved reflection we have infinite capability. Neither heredity, type of education, nor past experience determines the man God created in His image. Man expresses originality, dominion, and constancy because he derives these qualities directly from God. As we gain an understanding of our relationship to God, we will express His qualities more and more in our daily life. We will discover our own special talents and find unique and satisfying ways to use them.

The suggestion that time is a factor determining the quantity and quality of our achievement is nullified by the scientific fact that the Life we truly express is eternal now, not only after we pass through a series of time limitations. Right now we live in eternal life. Mrs. Eddy tells us, "Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity." ^{Ibid., p. 468.}

If we see that we are letting time outline our accomplishments, our need may be to silence human willfulness and planning in order to humbly seek the inspiration of divine Mind, which is always available. As we listen, we'll know, step by step, both what is most important for us to do and how to do it. We'll feel the peace of knowing that we're doing the right thing at the right time.

The boundary of restricted income is removed by awaking to the consciousness of ever-present wealth as a constant flow of ideas from divine Mind. Man's income is never material, never defined in monetary terms. As the perfect expression of infinite Love, man is continually receiving all he needs to fulfill his God-appointed mission. Receptive to Mind's guidance, we cease to be hemmed in by a false sense of lack.

Sickness and disease, also, can be deprived of holding power by the realization that God, infinite good, never made them. Man lives in Spirit, not in body. As the reflection of perfect Mind, he is separate from the conditions of a physical body, including the limitations commonly associated with old age. The understanding of what man really is brings health and freedom into our experience.

Now, there's more to the story of our geese: During the two weeks that the harmless fence was effective, the grass inside the pen became shorter and scarcer. One day, as I watched, a single goose, head bent low, slid right under the wire. Unaware that she'd crossed the boundary, she enjoyed the longer succulent grass for a few minutes. Suddenly she seemed to realize she was alone, outside the fence. Immediately she ran, stumbling, back to her companions in the familiar confines of the pen.

The barrier had been broken, however, and it wasn't long before she ventured out again. Others followed, and after much tripping and falling back and forth over the wire, all seven of the geese were outside the pen. From then on they enjoyed the spaces beyond the limits of the powerless wire, but always within our yard, which they somehow knew was home.

After learning through Christian Science of fresh new ways of thinking, are we sometimes tempted to go back to old confining beliefs? We can overcome these temptations by persistently turning to the truth. When we recognize a false belief for what it is—a lie—it loses its power to limit us. Through the power of the Christ we can overcome suggestions of limitation and side with Truth.

The Apostle Peter learned the importance of staying on the side of Truth. He and other disciples were in a ship in the midst of a wave-tossed sea. In the night Christ Jesus approached them, walking on the water. Peter called out, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Peter did well until he was tempted to go back to an old limiting belief. "When he saw the wind boisterous," Matthew tells us, "he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me." Instantly Jesus' hand was there to hold him up and lead him to the ship.

Jesus' rebuke to Peter is relevant to us today: "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" ^{Matt. 14:28, 30, 31.} When we've taken a step forward at divine Love's bidding, we can feel the support of the Christ with us, guiding us to the demonstration of harmony and dominion. Once the barrier of false belief has been broken, doubts must inevitably fade before the understanding of Truth, and demonstration will follow. We will find that an intrinsic part of our own demonstration is the blessing it brings, in many ways, to others.

They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

Psalms 34:10