Powerful new views
Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, “one small step” of “giant” significance took place when humanity, represented by Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, landed on the moon. I’ve always been so inspired by this remarkable achievement – the fruit of the vision, hard work, and dedication of countless individuals along the way.
Unlike Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Aldrin, and the 10 others who have walked on the moon since, most of us will never experience firsthand the buoyancy of a one-sixth weight equivalence or the phenomenon of looking across the horizon and seeing the blue-green marble of Earth. But that doesn’t mean we can’t experience life-changing discoveries and inspiring, breakthrough explorations right where we are.
The key, I’ve found, is one’s perspective. There’s some advice that has really stuck with me: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).
I remember thinking about that one summer night as I looked up at a full moon in a starry sky. I’d been learning as much as I possibly could about space, and to this 10-year-old considering “astronaut” as her career path, it was very encouraging counsel.
But there’s more to this statement, which was written by an early follower of Christ Jesus. It offers a thought-provoking take on how to think about, well, everything. It points to the radical idea that to understand reality, we need to look to God, divine Spirit, rather than to matter.
What does that tell us? Christian Science, which is based on the Bible, explains that God is Life itself and created all – the entire universe, including each of us. God is so powerful that He is the only source of what’s good and true. And everything He has made expresses His very nature; that is, not material or mortal, but the pure, spiritual expression of the goodness and grace of the Divine.
That’s the truest, most beautiful view of reality one could ever glimpse, and it’s available wherever we go. “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science and a pioneer in her own right, notes, “Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love” (p. 66).
When we’re open to those new views that reveal reality as wholly spiritual, we’re looking toward a horizon that holds unlimited possibilities. We find that, as Science and Health describes, “The harmonious will appear real, and the inharmonious unreal” (p. 347).
This isn’t merely a question of optics. Grasping something of the true, spiritual nature of existence paves the way for us to experience it more tangibly. For instance, when I was thrown from a horse last year, seeing “more clearly what always had been and always is the spiritual reality” led to the remarkably quick healing of injuries (see “Healed ‘quickly and wholly’ after riding accident,” March 11, 2019, Christian Science Sentinel).
There’s more to existence than meets the eye. Wherever in the world – or beyond! – we may be, each of us can look to beautiful new views of reality that bring inspiration, freedom, and harmony.
