GLOOM AND DOOM? NO!!!!

The klaxon rang loudly across the flight line at the U.S. Air Force Base, located some miles south of the North Pole.  At this air defense operation, well north of the radar net that is the Defense Early Warning system protecting North America,  our job was to protect the North American Continent while our citizens were sleeping soundly, or going about their daily routines, unaware that we were even there, or of our mission.

On this dark and frigid day, the alert came through our radio speakers loudly… Red Alert.. Red Alert.. Scramble Red.   

As an air traffic controller realizing that dense ice fog clung to the ground, visibility and ceiling were below legal landing “minimums,  my heart began to race.  The young fighter pilots did not have a choice, they had to go, the country was depending on them.

As the alert hanger doors opened and the 2 F102’s interceptor aircraft, Razor Red One and Two,  began to taxi, the lead pilot, voice stressed, yelled into the microphone that he couldn’t see anything, outside of the cockpit canopy.   He was led out to the runway by a Follow Me truck  and the two jets  made their turn, hopefully to line up with the long runway, then lit off the afterburners, pushed throttles completely forward,  and streaked down the runway  through the ice fog and darkness, climbing to meet the intruders.

At this northern most air base, the nighttime and total darkness lasts for many months and these pilots, depending on their ability to precisely follow their instruments and on the skills of the controllers, those calm voices guiding them, took off and climbed out.

Thinking back to that day recently,  it reminded me of another early experience.  Two years before the far north incident, stationed at an air base in Mississippi, situated just a few blocks from the U.S. Gulf Coast, we received reports of an approaching  hurricane.

The base aircraft were all ordered to leave immediately and to fly to a safer location hundreds of miles north of the coast. As I watched them take them depart I was amazed at their rate of climb. The winds had already picked up to about  60 mph and as the aircraft took off into the wind they climbed almost vertically, not nose up but just being lifted vertically by the force of the headwind, as if they were on an invisible elevator.

Also noticeable  was that as their landing gear left the runway,their last contact with earth, and the gear retracted into the fuselage, they climbed even higher, faster.   

As I left the base that day and went home to await the storm in a very small mobile home in a trailer park that an "airman last class" could afford, very close to the coast, I learned more about demonstrating courage and overcoming gloom and darkness.  Most of the airmen on base were protected in the concrete  barracks but I lived off-base with my wife and we had nowhere else to go. 

Through the hurricane, which devastated a lot of the coastal area, my

wife and I clung to each other, praying, as the mobile home shook and rattled on its flimsy foundation.  We made it safely through and felt God’s presence throughout the storm.

All of these experiences have been so helpful to me in relating them to how God provides protection and uplift in times of gloom and doom. They help us better understand God and our protection, in proving that we can trust more and be less frightened by conditions outside of our control. 

Here’s a summary of what I have learned.

·     That God, the Creator, our Father, as described in the Bible by Christ Jesus, is a very present help in trouble.  That God is Spirit, not material, not a human form sitting somewhere in space, but the essence of Spirit, unseen perhaps, but FELT by everyone who turns away from material sense of existence to seek the spiritual reality.    (God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  (John 4:24)   

·       That we can listen to the quiet voice of the controller for takeoff, climb and a safe landing.  Turning to God, that still small voice that calmly guides us through the fog of materiality, giving a clear signal when the outside noises of matter are silenced, is a safe navigation aid. (And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. (Isaiah 30 :21))

·       That we can face headwinds of trouble; lack of finance, love and understanding; illness, fear, sin and death because the once frightening headwinds put lift in our wings and help us climb higher spiritually. Those winds are an earthly phenomena, but God is Spirit, Love, untouched by matter and the whirlwind of mortal reasoning.  (¶ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5))

·        

    That when our landing  gear comes off the runway, when we turn loose of that last contact with earthly thinking, stop clinging desperately to a material sense of life,  and reach out to fly higher spiritually, we are lifted up even faster, higher.   As we release our tight hold on a material sense of life and existence, we begin to soar into an atmosphere of thought where fog dissipates and the sunshine of clear thinking reveals our true sense of life.

We can rejoice in our inevitable growth spiritward, to understand our own true identity as “the image and likeness” of God, knowing that we are not separate from God, but that  …in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.  (Acts 17:28)    as the Apostle Paul observed. 

We don’t have to go somewhere else, at some other time or to some other place to be God’s image and likeness, we are there NOW.  Safe, Guided, Serene.

I love a poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier contained as a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal.   It often helps me clear my thought in times when I seem to be flying “on instruments”, almost written for a pilot or air traffic controller, or anyone who feels that they are flying blind in the face of earth’s storms.  

Just for a moment, please sit with me here in the cockpit with those courageous young fighter pilots as we race down life’s runway, and sing with them:

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on;

The night is dark, and I am far from home,

Lead Thou me on.

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene; one step enough for me.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still

Will lead me on

O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone,

And with the morn those angel faces smile,

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

Safe flight and happy landings.  God is whispering in your ear...  "Life is eternal, TRUST ME!!!"

(I loved a blog written by Kate Robertson that showed her love for this special poem as well.  Here is a link:  http://stoneriverstudio.blogspot.com.br/2013/08/proceed-as-way-opens.html     )

VICTORY - Finishing Last

I saw him sitting on the bench after the game, head down, weeping silently while the arena went wild with applause and cheering. The camera stayed on him for just a moment, a very tall young man, nice looking, apparently exhausted,  a college basketball player whose team had just lost their game in the United States collegiate basketball finals. 

The camera quickly swung on to members of the winning team, exultantly jumping in the air, fists raised, smiling and laughing, and the camera then panned to the crowd, cheering wildly and  celebrating Victory.

But my thoughts returned to that young man who was still feeling the sinking feeling of losing the big game. 

It brought to mind a statement by Sharon Pollock,  Canadian playwright who said: "There is nobility in the struggle, you don't have to win."

In today’s experience, we live in a world of competition, a general atmosphere of “Who is the best”?  “Who will be the greatest”?

IRON CHEF COMPETITION

Of course in sports that is a natural instinct.   But in business, politics, game shows, even on television cooking shows, it is always one person or group pitted against another!!    Everything seems to be a contest… a test to determine who is the smartest, most capable, most talented, best looking, funniest, and we even judge dogs to see which is the “best in show”!!  Never mind the nobility in the struggle, it is WIN or else!!

As I thought about that young basketball player I considered how tragic it is that we sometimes miss out on the important things in life, limit ourselves and others, maybe even our own children by focusing only on the winners.  This young man had played his heart out, persisted, played well, fairly and with enthusiasm, yet he seemed defeated.

It brought to mind the Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska. This grueling race covers approximately 1050 miles across the frozen tundra  from Anchorage to Nome, a trip that takes from 8 to 35 days, depending on the weather and the team’s progress.    Teams generally race through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds which can cause the wind chill factor to reach −100 °F (−73 °C).  With dogs pulling their sleds, fighting against the elements, they endure hardships all for the sake of being named the winner.

But, interestingly enough, in that race, realizing how rigorous it 

is, they also honor the last team across the Finish Line!!  Finishing last at the Iditarod means that the “Musher” wins the Red Lantern award.   Indeed, finishing last means that the Musher and dog team persevered, kept going despite the odds, kept the faith, demonstrated strength and endurance. Aren’t these the Winning qualities we all strive for?

For those who are open and receptive to lessons learned and written for our benefit by our ancestors, the Bible has some solid counsel.   Jesus of Nazareth told a story about humility.  It was about a man being invited to a feast.  Jesus said:   “When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’   Red-faced, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left."

 “When you’re invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, ‘Friend, come up to the front.’ What I’m saying is, if you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”  *1

Mary Baker Eddy, writing on the subject of personal pride, the potential downfall of winners, said:  “Two personal queries give point to human action: Who shall be greatest?  And, Who shall be best? Earthly glory is vain; but not vain enough to attempt pointing the way to heaven, the harmony of being. The imaginary victories of rivalry and hypocrisy are defeats.“ *2

As we contemplate winning and losing in this human experience,  it is well to think of this counsel.  If we live our lives humbly, with the goal of loving one another, being faithful, kind, selfless, generous, with persistence and courage, we ARE winners.  Living our lives so as to be a reflection of our Father’s infinite qualities of Love, Principle and intelligence, even if we finish last in the daily contests, we will still be a Victor!!

Jesus, who when choosing between winning or finishing last in a human sense, was tempted in his own thought, the temptation came that he could be King of the Jews, that all of the kingdoms of the world could be his,*4  but he told that Satan of evil suggestion to "Get Thee Hence" and he chose to be a servant, a foot washer of his disciples,  humbly serving mankind and his Heavenly Father.  And, he was the Victor.  

In  Jesus own words: “... many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." *3 

LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!

* 1  LUKE 14: 7-11 (The Message Translation)

* 2  Miscellaneous Writings 267:3-7 Mary Baker Eddy

* 3 Mark 10:31  

Trying to Quit…

I spotted a small folded piece of paper on my seven year old son’s bedroom dresser and was in the process of picking it up to throw it in the waste basket, but curiosity made me unfold it to see what it was.   The paper was so wrinkled… it must have been folded, opened and refolded 100 times.   As I opened it I was shocked to see a scantily clad young woman’s picture, a centerfold picture from an “adult” magazine.  

My son had spent the night with a young friend earlier in the week and upon discussing this with my son I learned the boys had found some of the dad’s "adult" magazines and he tore out this page.

As I showed him the picture and talked about how it looked like it had been folded and  

refolded many times, I asked him if he had been looking at that picture a lot.  He said, “Yes Dad, but I am trying to quit.”   Those sad eyes looking up at me, that regret at doing what he knew was not something he was proud of, that self-disappointment showing on his little face, made my heart melt.

As I looked within myself at that moment, I thought, ‘ 'Yes, my boy, Dad knows that sinking feeling of guilt and disappointment,' not a necessarily a sneak peek at racy pictures but the awareness of doing something, maybe a lot of things that I was ashamed of, or not happy to have as part of my character, longing to quit, to change for the better.

Haven’t many of us been in that situation?  Maybe experiencing disappointment with ourselves for not “measuring up”, for doing things we regret, painfully aware that what we are doing is inappropriate, unwise, impure, perhaps not necessarily hurtful or really bad, but something beneath our standards.    But we continue to be powerless to resist the attraction to the wrong actions.  We are Trying to Quit!

It seems fashionable today to “Go to Rehab”, that mecca where an endless stream of celebrities, elected officials and maybe even the person next door go for a miracle cure.  So many wonderful people seemingly chained to bad habits of drugs, alcohol, sex addiction, abuse or maybe just being excessively critical, hurtful, “slightly dishonest", or just falling short of the mark we have set for ourselves.    They are “Trying to Quit”.

The Bible, that historical record of mankind’s efforts to rise higher in spirituality and to escape the downward pull of materiality has many examples showing this is not a new phenomenon.  Even for those whose life mission was to follow the teachings of Christ Jesus, sin was still a struggle. A Bible quote from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans  reflects his struggle where he writes:  “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” *  He was “Trying to Quit.”  

Anyone who has tried to quit smoking or the use of alcohol and drugs knows that Quitting is difficult!! But maybe Quitting is not the answer after all, and perhaps Starting is a better solution. Instead of trying to extract the unwelcome and undesirable habits and activities, filling their place with good ones is easier and more profitable. After all, in our schools we don't try to pull out ignorance, we pour in "learning"!

Recently while cleaning our duck pond I remembered how in the past I had used every method in the book to get the dirty water out of the pond including  a pump, suction

devices, a shovel and anything at hand.  Getting the sludge, feathers and dirty water out was a real chore.    This time  I began filling the pond with clean water which eventually forced out the dirty sludge, replacing it with clean, sparkling water.   How much easier it was to let the clean water do the work of purging the impure contents rather than spending hours dredging out the unwanted dirty water. And, the added benefit was that the dirty water fertilized the land around the pond.  Best of all,  when I had used the old method of emptying and draining I only ended up with an empty vessel. By filling with clean water the end result was a clean and sparkling pool, delightful to the eye and welcoming to the ducks.

In the Holy Bible we see where Christ Jesus shared a story** with his followers that held the key to our freedom.  He described how a  farmer had planted good seed in a field but someone had overnight planted some bad seed in that same field.  That "someone" described as an “enemy”, perhaps was the same enemy that plants those bad ideas in our thinking, those temptations, selfish ideas, greed, sensuality, insensitivity which cause such pain, distress and discouragement.   Jesus told how the landowner advised against pulling up the weeds, but instead nurturing the good seed,  faithfully cultivating and encouraging the good until the bad could be rooted out at harvest.

Religious pioneer Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, counseled that "The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour in truth through flood-tides of Love. Christian perfection is won on no other basis."***

Each of us can decide how best to "Stop Quitting and Start Starting"!!!  But for me, the straightforward lesson in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, contained in what are termed the Beatitudes, provides an excellent starting point.   This is a daily challenge,  but the results are surely worth it. 

For starters I am going to practice living these initial steps, several Beatitudes paraphrased from the King James version of the Bible and the Message translation:

·       Blessed are those who are gentle. 

·       Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval.

·       Blessed are those who show mercy.

·       Blessed are those whose thoughts are pure.

   Blessed are those who make peace.

This is a start, and the rest of the list can be found in Matthew, chapter 5. 

So,if we become discouraged  “Trying to Quit”, to leave behind some unwanted habit, personality trait, or hurtful way of thinking, we need not despair nor wrestle endlessly in a futile effort to extract the bad qualities. Rest assured that diligent and sincere efforts to pour in love, meekness, purity and other good qualities will soon clear out the “dirty water” of our lives.  And, best of all, we will not end up an “empty vessel”, but will reflect more of God's goodness and float more peacefully on life's waters. 

*    Romans 7:18

**    Matthew 13:13-24

***   Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy 

RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!

Lucy COME! Come here Lucy! Come on girl!

In those sincere brown eyes looking directly into mine from 30 feet away, I could see the stubbornness, the resistance, the implied statement that “I love you Daddy but I’m not coming.”  I suppose there’s nothing more stubborn than a Corgi, a sweet little dog whose main purpose in life seems to be to stubbornly refuse to do anything she is asked to do! It was time for me to call on my most very effective expression: Lucy, Come here… RIGHT… THIS… MINUTE!

And… slowly, I could see her eyes drop down, the resistance fading as she started taking the first steps to come into the house, those serious brown eyes staring up at me seeming to say, “Daddy is serious this time. Better do what he says”.   *1


Many of us have felt that drag, the resistance to doing what needs to be done, to procrastinate or move along sluggishly hoping the need for action will somehow pass us by, or maybe convincing ourselves that sometime in the future will be better. But in my experience those “take action” times seem to keep drifting just out of our reach, into the next moment, the next day, week or year, and we are only fooling ourselves by thinking that in the future we will somehow feel better, have more money, more time, more patience, be more mature, more ready, more, more, more. But always at a later time.

It is one thing when it involves just putting off painting the front porch,changing a light bulb or washing the car. Much more serious is postponing important things like considering our life purpose, where we are going spiritually, what are our life goals, or seriously addressing situations where our life and happiness or the happiness and well being of another are concerned.

Ironically, it often seems much easier to accept the dismal prospect of being sick or sinful, even being dissatisfied with ourselves, or delaying loving acts of kindness and consideration for others, resisting or delaying forgiveness, promising ourselves that in some future time we will do the right thing, maybe later we will apologize for some hurt or offense, be more helpful to others.  We convince ourselves that we will pray at some time in the future for better understanding of God’s love and its influence in our life. I have too often followed the reasoning of Felix, as described in the book of Acts in the Bible. When the Apostle Paul came to him to discuss the teachings of Jesus, “Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. *2

I am fascinated by the lessons taught by Christ Jesus, who knew that we don’t have to wait to see God’s promise, to begin to see through earth’s sometimes dreary outlook and to grasp the perfect spiritual state which is ours to claim at this very moment. He encountered many “postponers” as he made his way through the countryside teaching his followers about Life and Love, how to understand God and how to live a pure life. And he roused them to action!!!

In one memorable scene Jesus came upon a man who had an infirmity for thirty eight years and couldn’t walk. As The Bible has it: “When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” *3

It seems that the belief was that an Angel would come periodically and “trouble the water” and whoever first entered the water would be healed. Now this man had waited thirty eight years for a material solution, someone to help him get into the water, but Jesus said it was time to get up and move. Jesus saw through the claim of material disability and recognized the man’s spiritual identity as a child of God, not needing a material remedy but a better understanding of his spiritual perfection… and right that minute. He told the man to get up and take up his bed and go home. No waiting. No recuperation period. Jesus didn’t even touch him, he just uplifted the man’s thought by seeing him as a wholly complete and healthy idea of God.

A friend told me last month that she had been plagued with problems in the past several years and she said she decided to refuse to “drag across the timeline of the New Year the baggage of problems that she had been carrying.” WOW!!! I decided that I, too, can refuse to carry over problems from the past and to start now, immediately, RIGHT THIS MINUTE, to accept gratefully my true inheritance as an innocent child of God. It is high time to stop being burdened by worry, all of the concerns that seem to flow around us every day, and to begin loving more, caring more for others, concentrating on expressing my spiritual qualities instead of being lulled by the temptation to “do it later”, waiting on the “waters to move”. 

Those experiences with Lucy have left me with a better understanding of Right This Minute and I begin to understand John’s assertion that “NOW are we the sons of God.” *4

And, Right This Minute I am telling apathy and resistance to get lost. I have things to do!! And so I leave you with the words of one of my favorite hymns:

Make haste, O man, to do
Whatever must be done;
Thou hast no time to lose in sloth,
When all to Truth must come.

The useful and the great,
The thing that never dies,
The silent toil that is not lost,—
Set these before thine eyes.

Up, face the task and work;
Fling ease and self away;
This is no time for thee to sleep;
Up, watch, and work, and pray.   *5

Thanks Lucy, my little angel.

*1        I am not actually Lucy's daddy.  She was a stray and we adopted her and she was a precious daughter.
*2       Acts 2:24
*3       John 5
*4       I John 3:2
*5      Christian Science Hymnal  183

HE CAME AGAIN TODAY

When I first saw him through the family room window he was feeding at the deer feeder in the back yard.  He looked normal enough, a big buck, with a full rack of antlers, standing stately and proud.  But then, as he stepped away from the feeder and turned to move down the hill it appeared that he had stumbled. I watched intently as he lifted himself back up and I realized it was not a stumble but a severe limp. This big boy had apparently lost over half of his left  foreleg in some type of unfortunate incident, perhaps a trap or another animal had caused it. He moved slowly but steadily, regained his balance and moved on down the hill. That was over a year ago and I’ve often wondered what happened to him.

When I was walking through the house today, I glanced out the window and saw him again.  This time he was trying to bend down to drink from the fish pond. He was bent over, awkwardly, and I waved at him through the window. Then I thought, is that a silly thing to do, waving at a deer??  But at least I had his attention.  I so wanted to communicate with him, tell him how thrilled I was to see him, to find that he was alive and well, how much I loved his presence, the beautiful image he made up against the trees in the woods behind my house.  But, instead of letting well enough alone, I quietly slipped out onto the back deck were he could see me plainly thinking that  I could better communicate with him. But, alas, it frightened him and he gracefully fled down the hill with no apparent loss of agility due to the shortened leg.

I think I learned a lesson this afternoon.   I had so wanted to be part of his world, to let him know that we were feeding him and the eight or nine doe that are usually close by because we welcomed them, and to indicate forgiveness that they had managed to knock over a couple of rows of corn stalks so they could lie comfortably while eating my sweet corn last summer!!!    Actually, we see them constantly in the backyard,  in the garden in the summer or at the feeder, maybe eating apples from the trees in the fall or acorns or the crimson clover that we planted for them in the winter.     But due to my overzealous approach, I frightened him off.  

It made me wonder why I couldn’t just enjoy him through the window. I certainly had no intent of frightening him, but wanted to share a lovely crisp winter afternoon with him, just watching and admiring him. Then I wondered how many people I may have turned away over the years  due to an overzealous attempt to be friendly or to share things that I hold to be important, but awkwardly like a "bull in a china shop"!!    I started thinking that it is high time for me to approach life more gently, to appreciate things where they are, and as they are and not be so forward, so intent on forcing a relationship, so overzealous in sharing the things I have learned about life, God’s love and the sustaining power of spirit.  

Maybe, after so many years of trying to be “In Control” of things,  I am finally learning  to follow to some degree the counsel offered in the Book of Proverbs in the Bible:   “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  

When we are listening to the spiritual intuitions that come to us as divine ideas, we learn to move as God directs, not too soon, not too aggressively, but patiently, lovingly, intelligently.   I all of a sudden thought about Jesus, a man who had so very much to share, so much love to give, such a compassionate and loving heart.  When he was sharing, he did travel to different locations but usually he went to a place and people came to him when they were ready.   He didn't wave at them, run after them, tackle them and hold them down to share his thoughts!!! OK, waving may be okay.  

As God, who is Life,  unfolds the petals of a rose at just the right time, in just the right place, even amidst the thorns, his “angel whisperings” lead us to do the right thing, the loving thing, the intelligent thing, when and as we should.

I am hoping that beautiful old Buck will forgive me for my exuberance and give me another opportunity to love him from a distance, and to enjoy that deep love of life which is proof of God’s presence.

Calm on my Lake of Life

Considering the contention, confusion, anger and hatred that seems to permeate our world, I have found these cautions to be great for smoothing out the ripples and waves in my little "lake of life"....

                    

From the Bible:

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

“Leave off contention, before it be meddled with.”

“A soft answer turneth away wrath.”

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”

Although it is often a struggle, I have discovered that the world will survive without our anger, without self-righteousness and righteous indignation, without judgment, without our fear that "things are going down the tube fast"!!! 

A day filled with love, love for every turning leaf, every dog tail wag, every moment of affection, every inspired thought... and even harder, love and respect for every angry driver that is doing something wrong, every one who jumps in line in front of you at the grocery, every politician who obviously doesn't understand how to understand the constituents, every foreign or national leader who seems to betray the people's trust... even for them, working to see them in the purest light of LOVE, will make your day.

A favorite poem helps me each day... especially when my eyes are seeing what my heart doesn't want to see:

Speak gently, it is better far
To rule by love than fear;
Speak gently, let no harsh word mar
The good we may do here.

Speak gently to the erring ones,
They must have toiled in vain;
Perchance unkindness made them so;
O win them back again.

Speak gently, ’tis a little thing,
Dropped in the heart’s deep well;
The good, the joy that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell.

Christian Science Hymnal ....
Music from A Students’ Hymnal (Hymns of the Kingdom)
By permission of the Oxford University Press

Teacup One and Envy

“Tower, this is Teacup One, F-104 on the ramp,  for taxi and takeoff instructions.”... a familiar voice came over the primary tower frequency.

Looking down from the control tower I could see the F-104 Starfighter preparing to taxi to the active runway.   That would be “The Major” in the cockpit.  He was the commander of the small Flight Test group at our base, their “call signs" were Teacup One through Five and we knew each one through near daily contact.  

I had seen the Major walking across the ramp towards the aircraft in that flying suit that high performance aircraft pilots wear, maybe he wasn’t actually swaggering, but I would have been.  The difference between a pro and a “want-to-be”!!

I gave Teacup "the nod to leave the sod"  and, cleared to go, he began the takeoff roll. As Teacup One rocketed down the runway and rotated to go vertically, climbing straight up,  I requested he call off his altitude at 5,000 foot levels.   There was no real need for that, I was just thrilled at the speed at which that aircraft was rocketing upward, the F104 climb capability rated at 48,000 feet per minute and a top straight and level speed of over 1,300 miles per hour. A near rocket with 7 foot stubby wings.. all power plant!!! I nearly shivered with envy as he called each altitude level... he was smokin'!!!!!  

 With all my heart  I had wished I was behind the controls of that marvelous bird.   I felt that deep distress of envy.  I realized at that moment that glory days of being an Air Force  pilot were not going to happen for this intrepid airman, no supersonic flights, no high speed climbs to altitude, no glamorous adventures, no coveted pilot’s wings, no jumping into a high performance jet and doing victory rolls for me.   :::sigh:::

Now envy is not a new phenomenon.  It preceded the internet, personal computer, television and even the iPhone and CHEERIOS!  The Bible records envy as far back as the allegory of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden contained in the book of Genesis.  Therein recorded is the story of the how Cain, one of their sons was envious of his brother Abel, and killed him. Envy ruined both of their lives.  

Eve was tempted to eat the “forbidden fruit”, a form of envying that she and Adam couldn’t have everything they wanted.   Envy ruined both of their lives.

Envy, defined in our dictionary as a “painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage” and it ruins lives. Related words describe some of the many costumes envy may be wearing, words such as: covetousness, animosity, enmity, hatred, ill will; malice, maliciousness.  

But is Envy really about others?  Isn’t envy just feeling dissatisfied with ourselves, unhappy with our own status, our place in life, in our community or our family?  

Envy has appeared in my personal experience as:  “Why did they choose that guy for the job?  I am more qualified.”  Or, even worse, “Her prayers always seem to be effective and God doesn’t seem to hear mine!!” If envy wore a Tee shirt with a red ENVY written on it, we would know it, shun it, give it wide berth.

In a statement in her Miscellaneous Writings, Theologian Mary Baker Eddy writes: “If a man is jealous, envious, or revengeful, he will seek occasion to balloon an atom of another man’s indiscretion, inflate it, and send it into the atmosphere of mortal mind — for other green eyes to gaze on: he will always find somebody in his way, and try to push him aside; will see somebody’s faults to magnify under the lens that he never turns on himself. *   “WOW!  Now that’s putting it right out there!!!

At one of my more "silly thoughts" moments, while questioning whether some recent actions and comments were based on envy, I pondered, “I wonder if the number 5 is envious of the number 100.   I could almost envision a Number 5 saying… “Gee, that 100 has 3 digits.  It looks really good with that rounded end number, so symmetrical, and it is such big a number, WOW, to be One Hundred!!!   He must know someone higher up!!  What must it be like… here, I am… a little 5.  I wish, I wish, I wish…”.

But, what would the Number Set be without 5!!  It is famous for its role

in “five fingers”, “five toes”, “five dollar bill”, or in England “five pence”!!!  In Spanish, Cinco; In Arabic, Khamsa;  In German, Funf;   It has a name in every language.  How important is that???  And, likewise,  what would eternity be without one of its most wonderful ideas...YOU?

As with all problems we face, our solution is not extracting envy via mental surgery or pumping it out into a bucket for disposal, but it is removed by filling our thought with gratitude for who we are as vital, irreplaceable ideas of God, by realizing our inseparability from the Mind that created us, that mind characterized by the Apostle Paul as  “in whom we live and move and have our being” **.  

As we begin to more fully appreciate ourselves, our unique, individual, one of a kind, irreplaceable selves,  we can begin to see others in a clearer view, appreciate them for their contribution, cherishing them as individual ideas of the Creator instead of jealously fault-finding.   When envy looms in my thought I sometimes practice by trying to see some small good quality in the person or thing that I envy, looking for even just one thing in them to appreciate and love. And I can always find loads of good when I do that.

Rest assured that we all, even the most humble of God’s ideas, have a place, a non-negotiable, permanent, forever, for all time place.  There will always be a five and there will always be a you, and me, and each individual instance of God’s thought, reflecting our own individual goodness and being.  

As Jesus so wisely prescribed:  “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” ***

 *      Miscellaneous Writings Mis 129   

**     Acts 17:28

***  Matthew 5:48