Ring in the new
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
With changing seasons come growth and renewal. And with the holiday season upon us and a new year approaching, you may be ready to grow out of an old job, house, or relationship situation.
Moving forward may come effortlessly and naturally, or it may require constant conscientious effort. It may be pleasant, or it may be a real drag, depending on how much is your expectation of good.
Have you considered how resistance to change, inertia, and fear of the unknown are some of the mental barriers that need to be overcome in order to progress? Putting off the old and putting on the new (see Col. 3:9, 10), may involve leaving behind the familiar and comfortable and often have more to do with our mental landscape than anything else.
Christian Science has helped me learn that progress is neither bound to nor governed by mortal history. And it’s prayer that lets in the light of God and refreshes our lives.
When one wants to light up a darkened room, it makes no difference how long or how dark the room has been in the past. The history of “error,” or the mistake of believing that there is an intelligence besides God, is only as real and permanent as a shadow—nothing more than our perception of a temporary absence of light, enlightenment, and Truth. I’ve learned that what we need to do to welcome progress is to remove the obstruction to Truth in our thoughts. That task doesn’t require a lot of “busyness” or exhaustive searching, but rather letting go of our preconceived plans. It’s ridding ourselves of all the mental barriers we’ve built that seem to prevent the demonstration of Love from appearing in our lives.
Praying for guidance in humility is always a good place to start. “Dear God, where would You have me go; what would You have me do; how can I make this day a gift to You?” Then comes the more important part of prayer: listening, listening, listening for that still small voice. I believe this is God’s greatest gift to us: our ability to pray—listen and commune with Him.
I love the logical progression in Mary Baker Eddy’s poem, “ ‘Feed My Sheep’.” From “show me,” to “listen,” then “follow” and “rejoice.”
Shepherd, show me how to go
O’er the hillside steep,
How to gather, how to sow,—
How to feed Thy sheep;
I will listen for Thy voice,
Lest my footsteps stray;
I will follow and rejoice
All the rugged way. (Poems, p. 14)
Prayer isn’t informing God of what we think He needs to know or do, but rather it’s letting go and humbly stepping aside as God does all the adjusting. After all, God is the master of details. When we pray for things, such as a comfortable life, love, possessions, etc., we are on some level attempting to establish goals that would substitute themselves for God and often involve the past and fleeting illusions.
Even if it may be tough to see at times, happiness and a fresh start are available to each of us always, wherever we are mentally, physically, or spiritually. And happiness isn’t localized or seasonal. To look for happiness in a holiday, a person, place, or thing is like trying to find Tchaikovsky inside a radio. A radio may serve as a conduit for beautiful music—giving form to things we cannot see, feel, smell, or hear. But unseen radio waves are not audible sound, just as people or things are not the essence of happiness. They do present ideas in a form we can appreciate or utilize at that moment. But our unconditional happiness is based only on our at-one-ment with God and His unfailing love and care.
With New Year just around the corner, I’m striving to go forward with movements that are God-inspired, God-ordained, and God-maintained. We can each do this with joy, poise, and grace, trusting the impetus of Spirit to move us forward. God takes us all the way . . . not halfway, but all the way, and establishes our footsteps in new paths.
So let’s move forward, upward, and onward toward a new year full of promise, hope, love, peace, health, harmony, and spiritual growth. Have yourself a blessed holiday season—starting here, starting now. Let’s get moving!