Article October 4, 1982 Issue

True satisfaction

PEGGY PERCIVAL

Do we sometimes fall into the "if only" trap? "If only I had a better job, I would be happy" or "If only we could move to a more convenient neighborhood, I would be content." The list seems almost endless if we are viewing existence from a materialistic standpoint. Certainly most of us would have to admit to having wanted something very much, only to find that once we had it we found it taking second place in relation to a new want. This may happen, until we learn where true satisfaction comes from.

As long as we look for happiness in a person, place, or thing, we are bound to run into disappointment. Instead, we need to look toward the source of never-ending good, unlimited joy, and endless supply. There is only one source fitting that description: the one creator of all—that is, God, Spirit.

Learning to find our satisfaction in God requires a reeducation of our thoughts and desires. The higher standpoint requires a spiritual outlook, which comes through a humble desire to know God and His expression, man, better. As we learn the infinitude of Love, which is God, and recognize the Father's loving gifts of wisdom, understanding, health, harmony, beauty, intelligence, and joy to each of His children, we see that these are the realities of existence. These realities are lasting, but the false desire for more money, fame, or material possessions is fleeting and whimsical. As Mrs. Eddy states in Science and Health, "The pains of sense are salutary, if they wrench away false pleasurable beliefs and transplant the affections from sense to Soul, where the creations of God are good, 'rejoicing the heart.'"^{Science and Health, pp. 265-266.}