Letting go and moving forward

Have you ever had difficulty letting go of a negative thought or feeling? The story of the monkey and the coconut offers helpful insight. A monkey was entranced by a coconut lying on the ground. “What is that delicious smell?” he thought. He placed his hand into a small hole in the coconut to grasp a tantalizing treat inside but couldn’t remove the fist holding the coveted prize. Frantically trying to pull his hand out of the coconut, he screeched at his inability to free himself.

Are we sometimes like that monkey? Do we struggle and thrash about when we are confronted by a challenge, or do we quiet our thought to listen for God’s direction? The monkey was unable to see how his single-minded unwillingness to let go of the morsel was trapping him. Similarly, we can be trapped by fear, anger, possessiveness, and frustrated human will that we refuse to relinquish.

But we can avoid the monkey trap by learning to see situations from God’s loving perspective. We can ask God to help us discern what thoughts and actions are trapping us and how to move forward. As we are willing to examine our thoughts and feelings and to align ourselves with divine Love, we free ourselves from limited thinking.

God, Love, is divine Mind. As God’s perfect spiritual offspring, we are at one with this infinite Mind, which is in fact the only real Mind. As we pray to feel how we’re lovingly embraced by God, we are freed from the restrictions of material thinking, named in Christian Science mortal mind, which sees situations from a narrow, self-centered perspective.

Christian Science helps us understand the relationship between our thinking and our experience. As we align our thought with Mind, we find the harmony and joy natural to us as God’s expression. On the other hand, if we cling to limited, mortal thinking, we are trapped in discordant and unhappy experiences.

But God, not mortal mind, is in control of our lives. We can learn to differentiate between suggestions that aren’t true and Christ, the sweet, loving voice of God, always speaking to us. God establishes only good for each of us and blesses us with progress in understanding and proving spiritual, eternal life. The supposititious mortal mind suggests that all is futile, that there is a power opposed to God, good. In reality, there is only one power: God.

As we examine our thinking, we can ask, “Is this thought leading me closer to the wise and loving Christly consciousness expressed by Jesus?” If so, we will be freed from the negative thoughts and feelings of limited thinking. We can know that those thoughts, no matter how loudly they argue, have no power, and say, “I choose Love. I choose freedom.”

Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Love is the liberator” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 225), and, “Working and praying with true motives, your Father will open the way” (Science and Health, p. 326). When we turn to God for direction, there is always an answer. We can trust God to care for us.

I had the opportunity to really pray about letting go when my daughter left for college. I was heartbroken as she departed, but I learned to avoid the trap of thinking that a person, place, or thing could replace God’s infinite love. I knew that we each have our own direct link to God and that God is always caring for each of us, supplying us with everything we need. I also understood that I had to relinquish a limited, self-centered perspective to see how God was moving both of us forward.

God always showers us with His infinite love. It is our ability to reflect this love that fills us with joy and peace. As I have drawn closer to God, Love, and shared love with others, I have found it easier to let go of material perspectives. “Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love” (Science and Health, p. 66). My prayers have brought me even closer to my daughter because we are each feeling more deeply our direct relationship to our Father-Mother God, and this prevents us from feeling a sense of possessiveness in our relationship with each other.

As we study and pray to embody the wisdom in the Bible and Science and Health, we learn that there is no power separate from all-loving, omnipotent God. We never have to act like that stubborn monkey! We can let go of limited mortal thoughts and feelings and move forward with gratitude and gladness.