Article October 11, 2010 Issue

FINANCIAL PEACE IN OUR BUSINESS

FINANCIAL PEACE IN OUR BUSINESS BY MICHAEL MOOSLIN

I SUSPECT WE'VE ALL been assailed at one time or another by a sense of helplessness caused by reports of crime, natural disasters, or terrorist activities. Maybe business trends or recessionary pressures threaten credit or cash needs. Certain physical symptoms produce similar fears and anxious moments. When entering a meeting with those we disagree with—politically, financially, or even within the family—we tend to ruminate and rehearse the upcoming confrontation, justifying our position with what appears humanly to be the perfect defense.

Over the many years of my running a ceramic painting franchise business in California, I have only too often been tempted to give in to anxiety over impending financial shortfalls. Meeting payroll in the nick of time or losing sales that seemed assured—often at the last moment—have created a pattern of fear and worry. As parents and now grandparents, my wife and I have also experienced what are often considered normal concerns and anxious moments about our children's safety and success. At times, such fears appear to advance without any ability on my part to control them.

In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy spoke of such self-imposed buildups of anxiety through an interesting image: "Mortal mind produces its own phenomena, and then charges them to something else,—like a kitten glancing into the mirror at itself and thinking it sees another kitten" (p. 220). We could take that situation further. Imagine that kitten looking into the mirror and thinking it sees a ferocious cat with pointed teeth, tail sticking up in the air, crouched and ready to pounce. The kitten runs away, but to no avail. The adversary in the mirror instantly follows the kitten.