My son, Daniel, is quite a fan of a friendly wave. He also shakes hands, gives hugs and gives high-fives. In recent weeks I've noticed however, his wonderful ability to wave good-bye - to things we no longer want around our house. And I think it's his natural inclination, bestowed by God, to do this and we can all learn from him in terms of our consciousness.
We may take out the trash; Daniel stands and waves good-bye to the bag. We clean the crumbs and food off his tray; he waves good-bye as the food leaves and goes into the trash. We flush the toilet; there he is, waving wildly at the bad stuff that leaves.
We all have the ability to wave good-bye to the negativity - the bad stuff - in our thought. The 1st Psalm is very good at advising us not to walk among the "ungodly" or have un-God-ly thoughts. We should not allow any negative thinking, criticism, selfishness, etc., come in. If we spot it, we can close the door on it, turn it around and wave good-bye as it leaves - saying we won't see it again. Just like Daniel does to all that bad stuff that leaves our house. He waves good-bye because he's not going to see it again.
Mary Baker Eddy advises us to "(s)tand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously. When the condition is present which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears. Exclude from mortal mind the offending errors; then the body cannot suffer from them. The issues of pain or pleasure must come through mind, and like a watchman forsaking his post, we admit the intruding belief, forgetting that through divine help we can forbid this entrance (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 392)."
We can wave good-bye to the "bad stuff" - the un-God-like thoughts and fears in our consciousness - and bid them farewell forever. They are the opposite of God, good, All, so they are nothing. It should be easy, then, to wave good-bye and flush those thoughts right out of our thought ... allowing ample space for the Christ - the divine, perfect expression of God - to shine through in our personal experience.
Who says we can't learn from children?
I LOVE this! I've just been thinking about dismissing, and this is perfect.
ReplyDeleteIt also reminds me of my favorite way to encourage students in the hallway to get to class. Rather than raising my voice or shouting orders, I'll walk up to a bunch of them (and they're as tall as I am), and with a big smile on my face, just wave to them and say, "Bye!" It always works. And the cheerful dismissal does much to prevent negativity, grouchiness,ego, or reaction from entering the door of thought. And I'd never thought of it that way until I read your post. Thanks. :-)