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No hostility
Staggering under the influence of alcohol, a neighboring tenant came out of her apartment one evening as I walked by with my dog. She began a very hostile tirade claiming that everyone in the apartment complex resented me. I returned home quite upset and immediately began to pray about my reactive hurt and my fear that hatred could have an effect on me or my tenancy.
I began praying with a sentence from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “Evil thoughts, lusts, and malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen, from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence” (pp. 234–235). I also thought of, “Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you” (Science and Health, p. 571).
These truths were calming and reassuring, but in the morning, I was still upset. I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of talking to my landlord, as this had not been fruitful in the past. I knew this woman and another female tenant were good friends with the landlord, and when there had been problems, he would attempt to justify her behavior and apparent anger.
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About the author
Sylvia Messner lives in Cave Creek, Arizona.
