Article March 9, 1992 Issue

Drifting along with popular thought?

Judith H. Hedrick

Something happened to me once that opened my eyes and showed me why I should be alert not simply to drift along with the popular current of thought. It was the last day on a trip for whitewater rafting. I woke up to discover that my eyelids were swollen. One eye was almost completely shut. Soon the others in the group would be up, packing their camping gear, and organizing things for breakfast. I got up quickly and went down by the river.

I found a quiet spot where I could read that week's Bible Lesson outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly. The lesson consists of citations from the Bible and from the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and it has always been a help to me. It gives the spiritual understanding of God, Truth, that heals.

As I started to read, I found I was distracted. I was thinking about whatever came to mind—my eyes, river rafting, the people in the group, the river flowing by. Then I remembered a statement by Mrs. Eddy from her Miscellaneous Writings: "Floating with the popular current of mortal thought without questioning the reliability of its conclusions, we do what others do, believe what others believe, and say what others say. Common consent is contagious, and it makes disease catching."

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