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Take a real look at it
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
“You oughta have someone take a look at that.” It’s a familiar comment, coming usually from well-meaning friends or onlookers who are genuinely concerned about our health. It is often taken as a harmless comment. But “taking a look at” something usually means focusing attention on the problem, seeing it as real and taking off down that material path, accepting what is “seen” as real.
I had a personal lesson in this recently. In the mirror one morning I saw my chest and shoulders covered with a red rash, which began to itch as I looked at it. “Well,” I said, “where did that come from?” I left it at that, dressed, and went itching on my way. That night, when I was near the mirror again, I “took a look at it” and sure enough, it was still there.
Then it hit me. Looking at it is one thing, but what I see—what I accept as real—is something else. Looking at the rash and reaching for some salve or ointment was not the solution. Instead, I consciously replaced that discordant picture with what I have learned is man’s perfection as the child of God. I stopped looking at the picture in the mirror and saw myself as God’s reflection, as we learn in Christian Science—perfect in every way. And very soon, the itching stopped and the rash was gone.
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About the author
Fred Andresen lives in Corona del Mar, California. His most recent book is Dos Gringos, a family novel set in the Mexican Revolution.
