Do we have to suffer from temperature extremes?

BEFORE making my first trip to a very hot country, I wanted to be sure that I really understood that God is the only power and that I wasn't governed by climate. Before I left, a friend said to me: ``Remember that God is divine Principle and Principle is the same everywhere.'' Soon after my arrival I took a walk along a red, gritty road. Although the sun was beating down, there was a pleasant breeze. However, as I plodded along the straight road that seemed to have no end, I suddenly felt as though I might faint. Immediately a sentence from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy1 came to thought: ``Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine `powers that be.' '' 2 This seemed to have an exact bearing on the situation. I had learned through Christian Science, which is in accord with Christ Jesus' teachings, that God is Spirit and therefore His creation is actually spiritual, expressing the creator's perfection. I could see, then, that though I seemed to be a mortal, physical being, subject to temperature extremes, my actual identity was spiritual, untouched by material conditions. The fact was that God was the only genuine power in that place or any place. I knew from experience that keeping these absolute truths firmly in thought, discerning their reality in prayer, would bring about harmony. The Psalmist said, speaking of God and man, ``Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.'' 3 Rejoicing that only God had power over me, I completed my walk in comfort.Later that day pains in my arms were healed through a perception of the same practical spiritual truths. I was very grateful that during my trip there were occasions, through study of the Bible and Science and Health, to strengthen my understanding that in God's spiritual creation there are no harmful conditions. There's neither a climate too hot nor a climate too cold. And man is eternally maintained in a perfect state by God. Science and Health says, ``The relations of God and man, divine Principle and idea, are indestructible in Science; and Science knows no lapse from nor return to harmony, but holds the divine order or spiritual law, in which God and all that He creates are perfect and eternal, to have remained unchanged in its eternal history.'' 4 It is this same Principle, God, that my friend had referred to when she said, ``Principle is the same everywhere.'' And I could see that even as the rules of the multiplication table are the same wherever we are, so man's spiritual nature--our real being--remains unaffected by geography, governed by perfect Principle. When I returned home after an enjoyable trip, I was again grateful for the truths that I had been practicing, for now the weather was very cold. People commented that I must be feeling the great difference in temperature--and before long I noticed symptoms of a cold, which continued and intensified. I was glad that the same truths that had already helped me freely enjoy a hot climate were also available to counter beliefs about ill effects from a cold climate. I gratefully realized that God, Spirit, is the only creator; that man and the universe are truly spiritual; that God, good, is the only power, and that in His infinitude there is nothing that can injure man; therefore changes or extremes of climate cannot harm man. Before the day was over every cold symptom had left. I was completely well, and very grateful for another practical proof of spiritual reality. 1 Mrs. Eddy is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. 2 Science and Health, p. 249. 3 Psalms 8:6. 4 Science and Health, pp. 470-471.