Article September 13, 1999 Issue

MORE MINDFUL, LESS OPINIONATED

Joyce D. Wethe

During a committee meeting, members had reached an impasse over a controversial subject. There was no end in sight to the heated debate. One member, however, had sat in silence throughout the whole discussion. When someone finally asked for his opinion, quietly and with utmost sincerity he said, "I have an opinion. I've been trying to listen to what God knows. I'm sure that God doesn't have opinions, but He surely knows. I haven't gotten the answer yet, but I'm still listening."

The committee then concluded their business in complete harmony. This individual, and perhaps others, had yielded to God, the divine Mind, and opinions had flown out the window. The Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, assesses human opinions cogently: "Human opinions are not spiritual. They come from the hearing of the ear, from corporeality instead of from Principle, and from the mortal instead of from the immortal" (Science and Health, p. 192).

I've thought of this incident whenever I've felt agitated or disturbed about a problem involving others, and I strive to be more "Mind-full"—more aware of the thoughts of divine Mind—and less opinionated. Often some unexpected idea that hadn't occurred to me solves the problem in a way that satisfies everyone. I'm convinced that only the inspiration of Mind could do this.

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