Finding the ideal climate-today

The general feeling about climate as friend or foe appears to influence many people to head for sunnier regions. But geographical change is not a presto cure-all. Restlessness and physical discord may sprout again in that hoped-for greener pasture. Gratitude for the good apparent right where we are can initiate a fresh breeze, shed a wider patch of sunlight on gloomy prospects. One can even generate his own benign ambience by looking outward for opportunities to bless those within his present radius-all year round.

Recognizing the true nature of man as God's image frees thought from the consensus that man is a hapless victim of temperature extremes, a carrier of the ills associated with seasonal changes. Fear of adverse weather conditions can yield to the spiritual perception that, in reality, man and the universe express only good, because God is good and infinite. In the heavenly order of things man and the universe exist in harmony-as friends, not enemies.

The real man, your true selfhood, is not a vulnerable cog in an uncaring universe, but is naturally conscious of the warm comfort of God's ever-present goodness and care. From a spiritual perspective, the environment can be seen as the all-embracing atmosphere of God's presence, always healthful.

A pure, spiritualized state of thought, cultivated through prayer and increasing Christliness, lifts one higher to see himself and others as unrestricted by a time sequence of winter or summer complaints. Health is actually an attribute of God, expressed by His image. It's permanent, unvarying everywhere.

The physical ills associated with climate have a mental basis. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, ``A woman, whom I cured of consumption, always breathed with great difficulty when the wind was from the east.'' And she says later: ``The wind had not produced the difficulty. My metaphysical treatment changed the action of her belief on the lungs, and she never suffered again from east winds, but was restored to health.''1

When called to restore the young daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, Jesus sheltered the father in the healing climate of faith in the supremacy of good, saying to him, ``Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.'' Jesus protected his curative mission by excluding the weeping, faithless mourners. The Bible records: ``And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway.''2

The Christ, the divine activity in human consciousness, reveals man as the loved child of God, expressing the undiminished vitality of the creator's infinite resources. A Christly state of consciousness dissipates the chill despair that sees man as an inevitable sufferer and protects us against the bluster of scornful disbelief in the divine power to heal.

When tempted to believe that a strong wind is blowing against the progress of some good purpose or that there is a frigid response to a friendly gesture, we can foster the warmth within our own hearts to melt ice-jammed positions. A hymn assures us: A holy air is breathing round,

A fragrance from above: Be every thought from sense unbound,

Be every action love.3

Love is the spiritual force that can scatter clouds of mistrust as the superpowers seek an aura of mutual understanding and cooperation to eliminate the threat of nuclear war. Accepting the Bible dictum ``Beloved, now are we the sons of God''4 fosters a climate in which individuals can experience more of the peace that is everyone's divine right.

There is an ideal climate that is universally present. It is not unpredictable but divinely certain; not afflictive but benevolent. The Psalmist found it: ``He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.''5 Each of us, in absolute truth, dwells in ``the secret place,'' safe and satisfied. 1Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 184-185. 2Luke 8:50, 54, 55. 3Christian Science Hymnal, No. 4. 4I John 3:2. 5Psalms 91:1. Daily Bible Verse Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations Psalms90:1