Article January 28, 2013 Issue

Chutes and ladders

Blake Windal

Readers of this magazine may recall a children’s board game called “Chutes and Ladders.” Having two kids of my own, it was fun for me to rediscover the game I loved as a child because of its thrilling advances and jaw-dropping backslides that resulted in many moments of laughter. 

Briefly, each participant has an identity on the board controlled by the rolling of a dice. The board shows ladders that can propel you onward and upward. But it also features down-chutes that can randomly send you backward by a few or many levels, even all the way back to the beginning!

Recently, it occurred to me that the game is a nice analogy for what Christian Science teaches about monitoring consciousness. Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “In a world of sin and sensuality hastening to a greater development of power, it is wise earnestly to consider whether it is the human mind or the divine Mind which is influencing one” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 82–83). This consideration might also be seen as determining how well we do in the parallel game of life in our analogy. 

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