A friend of mine is fond of saying that sometimes you don't know what you don't know! He also feels strongly that you have to allow yourself, and others, the freedom to learn.

Perhaps we're just starting a new job. Everyone naturally assumes that "the new person" needs time to get used to the way things are done. We've all been there and know how important patience and encouragement can be in that sometimes awkward period of becoming familiar with different tasks and a new routine.

Then again it might be an entirely different culture that we're having to explore and understand for the first time. Allowing yourself, or someone else, the freedom to learn other traditions or a new language can mean so much. What has always been commonplace and acceptable to one person may seem very strange or intimidating to another. What a perfect opportunity to practice the "Golden Rule"! After all, who of us, being far from familiar surroundings, wouldn't deeply appreciate the care and support of others as we learn a different lifestyle?

Still another area where learning takes place, and where everyone deserves the freedom to learn, has to do with our desire to understand and obey God; learning how God governs man; experiencing in new and practical ways each day His constant love.

We're always free to understand more of God, and of man as His spiritual, perfect likeness; there's no rank or intellectual rating involved in our ability to do so. In her book Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Spirit imparts the understanding which uplifts consciousness and leads into all truth."

Because of man's inseparability from God, Spirit, each of us has the capacity to perceive a right course of action, the direction that God provides. It can't be inaccessible to anyone. Under all circumstances we're free to exercise man's God-given spiritual sense to discern His guidance, His intelligent care of man, and thus to learn more of the divine nature.

Nehemiah, for example, turning to God in prayer while rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, was able to perceive the rightful purpose of that work and to pursue it under difficult circumstances. Though he didn't have an easy time of it, Nehemiah was never in a position where he couldn't learn from God what he needed to go forward in his work. And he found divine wisdom and protection accompanying his love of God and his obedience to Him.

In truth, man belongs to God, so it's of the greatest importance that we acknowledge and exercise this freedom to understand and obey Him wherever we are, whatever we're doing.

All too often, however, that freedom is lost sight of or is gradually forfeited. It might be in ways that aren't obvious, such as thinking we don't have enough time. So many other things fill the "must do" list that important periods for regular communion with our Father-Mother and for deeper study of the Bible and Science and Health are put off. It may seem as though we have no choice. Yet, isn't that forfeiting an all-important opportunity to learn what we need to learn of God, who is man's Life?

We certainly want and love all the blessings that come from a clearer understanding of God—greater wisdom, more peace, better health. Christ Jesus demonstrated these results through his healing works and taught his followers, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Then, at each opportunity, don't we need to take a decisive and consistent stand for our freedom to learn more about God and His spiritual laws, which are always available to comfort and care for us?

A man I worked with at one time told me how he had to take just such a stand. He was commenting on how frustrating his commute to work had become. He had recently moved from a quiet community in the southern United States to a major city in the Northeast. The congestion and speed of the traffic on his drive to work were quite a shock. It really bothered him that while he would be traveling at the posted speed limit, cars would be right behind him, drivers pounding on the horn, clearly wanting him either to speed up or to get out of the way. By the time he arrived at work each morning, he was quite upset and needed some time to regain his peace of mind.

It was refreshing to hear how he handled the problem. At first he thought that the tension from his commute was the harsh reality of working in the city and that he would simply have to accept it. Then the thought occurred to him that he had more control over the situation and over his well-being than that. He didn't have to sacrifice his peace, because peace is actually a spiritual quality that man, as God's offspring, forever includes.

He knew that he was free to pray; to discern, spiritually, whatever he needed to solve the problem. It was a solid, complete stand for his freedom to learn. He was claiming his right to pray and to receive an answer to his prayer. At first he wasn't sure just what he needed to learn, only that he needed to understand something more of God's flawless care of man and grasp that God is never, ever unresponsive to man's needs.

When his answer came, he was in the thick of commuter traffic. It was this idea: You have a right to obey the law. It was a quiet, authoritative assurance, my friend said, and he was certain it had come from God. With this new perspective his tension disappeared, and he felt very much at peace. He told me recently that he still feels calm and safe whenever he's driving in heavy traffic.

Learning goes on through countless lessons like this, hour after hour. Whether we're inching along bumper-to-bumper or curled up on a sofa in the quietness of our home, let's keep thinking about what God provides that enables us to know Him better, now and always. Let's vigorously exercise our God-derived ability to keep seeking and learning more about our Father-Mother's precious and perfect care. Then, let's look again to the "Golden Rule," which urges us to support one another fully as we explore and understand these truths together.

Russ Gerber