When you hear the words "stranded on an island," do you—as many people do—think of a South Sea paradise?

But let's consider a barren, desolate spot. At times many people find themselves mentally isolated on such an island; they feel alienated from relatives, fellow workers, classmates, or friends. This may result from their own thoughtless words or acts, or from allowing themselves to be full of resentment or frustration over the words or acts of others. By allowing negative, material thoughts to rule their thinking and experience, they cut themselves off from God-given love, joy, and peace.

A young couple found themselves in a bitter argument over a trifling misunderstanding. The wife even feared that her husband would strike her. She ran to her room to be alone. The husband, filled with resentment, stalked off to his desk. Intensely upset, each was isolated on a desert island.

Finally when their thoughts began to clear, they saw how foolish they had been. They had allowed evil, the error of material sense, to rule their relationship. Despite their mutual caring, until they could reject the hurt feelings and anger as illusory and powerless because not created by divine Spirit, good, they could not begin to solve the problem.

They examined their thinking and found—in addition to anger, resentment, and fear—hurt pride and self-pity. They saw clearly the spiritual antidotes for these poisonous thoughts—the divine qualities they reflected from God in their real identity as Spirit's image and likeness. These included unselfed love, serenity, mercy, assurance, harmony. Replacing each thought with its specific spiritual counterfact, they eradicated the erroneous beliefs in a discordant, material consciousness apart from the one Mind, God. As a direct result the situation was completely healed.

At times it seems a lot of human willpower is needed to keep disruptive thoughts from alienating us from God and our fellowman. But this too is a false picture. God's man, our actual identity, is stable, wise, harmonious. Where the opposite picture appears, we need to see the flawless, spiritual man. This enlightened perception does not result from a great exercise of will; it requires purification of character and unwavering, prayerful trust in God to govern and guide. Active prayer and quiet confidence reveal the nothingness of aggressive mental suggestions.

In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy states, "The great spiritual fact must be brought out that man is, not shall be, perfect and immortal." ^{Science and Health, p. 428;} As the husband described earlier, I used this thought to overcome anger and isolation. Until I was able to clear my own thought, I could not reach out to my wife. I had to know the present perfection of the real man to correct my thought and eradicate the errors from it.

We are continually called upon to take control of our thought. When we are conscientiously pursuing our primary occupation, expressing Godlike characteristics, we cannot fail to relate well to others. Listening for God's will to be revealed to us, and obediently doing His will, guarantees us freedom from expressing selfishness and friction in our relationships. We can heed Mrs. Eddy's wise counsel: "In patient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of error,—self-will, self-justification, and self-love,—which wars against spirituality and is the law of sin and death." ^{ibid., p. 242;}

Truth is ever available and applicable in all situations, we learn in Christian Science. When we demonstrate harmonious relations at home, the operation of Truth in the rest of our life is quickened, for the good we learn to see in ourselves and our families we can see in all people. Likewise, if we hold a fellow worker to be disagreeable or dishonest, we are denying not only his harmonious spiritual identity but our own.

It is vital to see ourselves and others as God's perfect children, Mind's spiritual ideas. We need to know the truth of all being consistently and strive to live it consistently. These words of Christ Jesus' are found in the Sermon on the Mount: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." ^{Matt. 5:48;} Be, not become, perfect. To the extent that we realize present, universal perfection, we find harmony and joy throughout our day.

To keep from being stranded on barren islands of thought, we have to keep our consciousness clear of misconceptions. Mistaken beliefs would separate us from the love of God. As we realize and practice our spiritual perfection, we see, as the apostle says, "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Paul adds, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" ^{Rom. 8:28, 35.} This is our answer: we will not accept false thoughts denying man's spiritual perfection and seeming to separate us from our Father's love. All being is perfect.