Don't be afraid...it's just an act!
Have you ever seen someone whom you know is upset try to act like everything is OK? He has a smile on his face, but his heart isn’t smiling. He is just putting on an act. Sometimes you just want to let the person know it’s all right to “drop the act” and open up about their struggles. Of course, even more than expressing feelings of unhappiness or disappointment, it’s helpful to know that we don’t have to be swept up in negative emotions that aren’t natural to us.
Still, it can feel easy to get “caught up” in the act. It’s like that in movies. The people on screen can pull emotions “out of a hat.” They can laugh, cry, be surprised, act brave, and do whatever the script requires of them. Of course, we all know that in the movie When Harry Met Sally, it wasn’t really Billy Crystal who fell in love with Meg Ryan. No matter how convincing the performance may seem, we know it’s just an act.
And have you ever watched a scary movie? You can get so caught up in the drama that you feel the fear, the dread, the stress welling up inside. When I watched the movie Alien that was my reaction. It was so frightening to me that I was all tied up in knots. It was as if I had stepped onto the set and become one of the actors.
Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Sentinel and author of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, says: “Mortal mind alone sentences itself” (p. 391). And it’s true. By getting so caught up in a frightening picture—an “act”—we sentence ourselves to feeling uneasy and uncomfortable.
To get through the movie Alien, I told myself that it was all fake. I was in no danger. Nothing was wrong. Have you ever done that? If you have, you know that it can help to lessen fear. It takes you out of the drama, detaches you from frightening emotions, and puts you in control again.
That’s the same challenge we often face in our lives. We get so caught up in the drama around us—family situations, personal issues, health challenges, and so on—that strong negative emotions may begin to dominate our lives.
The fear isn’t our own. The dread isn’t ours. The stress doesn’t belong to us. What belongs to us are the qualities of God.
When that happens we can do the same thing I did while watching the scary movie. We can step back and realize that the mortal picture of life can sometimes be like a scary movie, but it’s not the reality at all. We can remind ourselves that we are God’s children—made in His image and likeness, reflecting divine Life, Love, and Truth, and that we, in reality, have, “not a single quality underived from deity” (Science and Health, p. 475). We can reawaken to the fact that we can never be separate from God or from His spiritual, always good creation.
The fear isn’t our own. The dread isn’t ours. The stress doesn’t belong to us. What belongs to us are the qualities of God. Negative emotions come from being engrossed in the drama of daily happenings. We can “drop the act” and get back to living the good life and positive feelings that God has given us.
Several months ago, I heard some disturbing family news that left me feeling fearful and uneasy. I wanted to pray about the situation, but I was so wrapped up in these negative emotions that I wasn’t able to turn to God with love and trust. I realized that I needed to handle my own fear before I could be of any use to others. When I called a Christian Science practitioner, she shared with me the concepts I’m writing about now. And as I prayed—as I realized I could confront my fear just as I did in the movie theater—I was able to spiritually center myself once again. The insights this practitioner shared with me really set me free of fear for my family. We’re all grateful that the family member who was in trouble is safe now and getting help. Progress is being made.
We can and should recognize that anger, depression, fear, dread, stress, sorrow, etc., are all part of an “act”—or a false sense of who we really are. In facing negative feelings, we can confidently “drop the act” and “get real” with God!