Sailing lessons

I recently went sailing for the first time with a friend. Something very interesting happened when we were going into the wind. It felt like we were going very fast, but when my friend looked at the boat’s instruments, I was shocked to learn how slow our actual speed was. I had been fooled by the wind in my face and the waves rushing past us.

When we turned the boat around, things got even more interesting. I had expected that going with the wind would feel even faster and more fun, but after several minutes it felt like we had barely moved at all. At this point my friend looked at his instruments again and told me that we were traveling at the exact speed we had been traveling when we’d been moving against the wind!

It turns out that we were moving pretty close to the speed of the wind and the waves around us, so we felt almost no wind and the waves looked static. The picture around me had fooled me again. But my friend knew better. He knew to get his information from the boat’s instruments.

This relates to a spiritual lesson I’ve been considering. Sometimes in life it may feel as if we’re stuck, not making any progress. But I’ve noticed that looking back on times like these, there was often spiritual growth, even great growth, happening. Other times it may feel as if things are going great, as if we’re sailing through life. But are we actually making any progress? Maybe or maybe not.

I’ve found that the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, are helpful instruments as we journey through life. They teach that our true nature and existence have nothing to do with the physical circumstances around us. That’s because in truth we are spiritual – the outcome of God, infinite Spirit. Reasoning from this basis brings our experience more in line with God’s limitless harmony.

In my early 20s, I gained my architecture license, started a new company, and got married within a very short period of time. It seemed like things were going great. But less than a year into our marriage, the marriage ended.

At first, I felt blindsided and devastated. It seemed my life had screeched to a halt. I dreaded the prospect of starting over in relationships and felt unsure of a lot of things, including my work. For a period I spoke with a Christian Science practitioner, someone who devotes their time to helping people resolve issues through prayer, almost every day.

Looking back on that time, I realize that it was one of the biggest growth experiences I’ve ever had. At times I found myself asking very basic questions, such as, “Do I even know what love is?” Prayer and study of the Bible and Science and Health brought profound answers about the nature of God, Spirit, as Love itself, and about everyone’s true makeup as the outcome, or spiritual reflection, of this divine Love.

I came to see that despite its challenges, my life was not moving backwards. It hadn’t even come to a stop. Spiritual truths were becoming more real to me in a way that really propelled further growth.

This growing understanding of God’s presence and of everyone’s infinite ability as the expression of God supported happiness and progress in my experience – including a new, stable, loving relationship and a side career in music, something I’ve always loved. Most important, it changed me as a person – for the better.

It’s not that we need difficult experiences to grow. Rather, our growth is not dependent on or defined by the changing human view. We are not material beings navigating our way to spiritual waters. We are not even spiritual beings having a material journey or experience. We are wholly spiritual and subject to the joy and peace of divine Spirit. Right now.

That’s what the Bible’s inspired messages and the spiritual truths explained in Science and Health help us realize. We can count on them as trusted instruments, helping us understand our true status and identity as not stemming from human circumstance. Our makeup as God’s children is stable, whole, invulnerable.

As we let these truths guide our understanding of who, what, and where we are, we find that we are better able to navigate life’s waters – even if the scene around us changes like the wind.