Do You Quack or Soar?

The following story is widely circulated on the web, and it's a good one to be reminded of in these times of high unemployment and people striving to hold on to their job.

It emphasizes the merits of offering top-notch service and the rewards that come for giving above and beyond.

Here's a link:

Ducks quack, eagles soar

Are you soaring or quacking today?

Do you quack or soar?

The following story is widely circulated on the web, and it's a good one to be reminded of in these times of high unemployment and people striving to hold on to their job.

It emphasizes the merits of offering top-notch service and the rewards that come for giving above and beyond.

Here's a link:

Ducks quack, eagles soar

Are you soaring or quacking today?

God's law of Enough

Many people are looking for jobs today, or fear losing their present position.

While praying about unemployment recently, I found myself mentally fighting the claim that there are not enough jobs to go around. There is a shortage of positions for the large number of workers seeking them, the carnal mind aggressively argued.

I immediately identified the claim as a lie , because I know there is never lack in God’s kingdom. There are enough jobs for everyone, I exclaimed.

And then it occurred to me how important it is to pray for everyone in the workforce when facing the issue of unemployment. It is not well enough to pray only for one’s self to find a job, for if one held in thought the possibility of someone else being unemployed because of unfavorable economic conditions, that same belief could very well hold that person back from finding employment.

We live out what we hold in thought. So if we’re battling the belief that there are not enough jobs for everyone, we need to know that there are enough jobs for everyone.

God’s law of Enough! The phrase formed in my mind.

That’s right! I exalted. We’re all governed by “God’s law of Enough!”

There is always enough good to go around for one and all. It’s the way of universal infinite Love.

When I pray for better health, I never fear not finding it because someone else is struggling with disease. I know health comes from God, and it’s unending, ever-present, built into our spiritual individuality which no one ever loses.

When I pray for more love, I never fear not finding it because my neighbor is fighting with his spouse. I know it comes from God, and it’s infinite, equally available to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

When I pray for supply, I never fear not finding it because my neighbor filed for bankruptcy. I know supply is spiritual, coming from God, in the form of wisdom, love, creativity, and inspiration, and there is never a lack of it. Supply is available to one and all.

Demonstrating enough of God’s good is about understanding “God’s law of Enough.” There is enough goodness to go around for everyone, including gainful employment that demonstrates worth and value and generates a profitable return. The opportunities and possibilities come from God, and they are without limit.

God’s law of Enough. I like it. It rings true. It uplifts and inspires one’s sense of possibility. It takes thought out of the mindless dungeon of feeling hopeless and impoverished, and puts it upon the mountaintop of Truth where the expansive view of God’s blessings and gifts is readily taken in, and enough of God’s goodness is found.

There is enough of this goodness for you too. For after all, you are governed by “God’s law of Enough,” and that is enough!

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” II Cor 9:8

Employment opportunities increasing

To preserve one’s success, progress and prosperity, it’s important to daily defend thought from external negative mental influence. Like guarding the front door to our home, we do not let strangers in that cause havoc and destruction. We are wise about the guests we allow to enter in order to preserve peace on the home front.

If you like to work and demonstrate worth and value, one statistic that needs to be guarded against today is the rising unemployment rate that has been widely broadcast across the media. Economists have been forecasting a rising rate through the rest of the year, and high unemployment into 2011.

From a spiritual point of view, the rising number means employment opportunities are increasing, not decreasing.

Employment is about working for God, helping one’s neighbor, serving a useful purpose, making a positive difference, engaging with work that generates profit, productively using one’s time and effort to meet needs. Wherever there is a need, there is an employment opportunity.

According to the press, people’s needs have been increasing, not decreasing. And that means there is greater work than ever for those willing to help. And there is a reward to reap.

The belief that there is not enough money to go around and pay wages is illusion.

It’s been interesting to watch the stock market. Investors have pulled out of the market over the last couple of years and prices have declined dramatically. There is no shortage of money to invest. Billions of dollars are sitting on the sidelines waiting for what investors consider ripe opportunities to invest. When that moment hits, the money will flow back in. There is no lack of funds to invest.

With employment, the money is present in the economy to pay wages. That is not a problem. It’s a matter of allocating funds to the most productive and worthwhile purposes. And the resources are going to wait, or flow, in the direction of those serving those most productive and valuable purposes.

I look to the Christian Science practice as the ultimate model for demonstrating employment. Practitioners help people in need. The opportunities to help and income possible has nothing to do with an employment rate, economic forecasts, downturns or upturns. It’s all about drawing upon the infinite resources of divine Love and blessing others with those resources. People have needs, practitioners can meet those needs spiritually, people call for help, healing happens, and gratitude is expressed in practical ways that meet the practitioner’s human needs. People needing the help find the funds they need to receive the help they are looking for just like investors find the funds they need when opportunities are right in the market. There is no lack, but there is a redistribution of resources to the places that bring the greatest benefit.

Any type of worker has a valuable service to offer through the resources of Love he or she puts into practice. These resources come from God and are without limit. When the needs of humanity are great, employment opportunities are even greater.

Jesus Christ went about doing good works for others. He never worried about the economy at large, or suffered from it. He drew upon the infinite resources of wisdom, love and spiritual mindedness to keep fully employed and do his work well. And his human needs were met every day. It’s the way of Love, and a path we all can walk down and benefit from.

God employs the unemployed

There was a lead article in our local newspaper recently that reported increasing numbers of new companies being formed. This is good news! The unemployed are finding employment. Rather than sitting around and waiting for a company to ring their phone, the article stated, they are taking initiative, looking for good business ideas to act on, and following through with a plan.

I saw this report as a positive sign of one way God meets needs of the unemployed. Not everyone is perhaps “cut out” to be a business owner or manager, but the more new companies form, the more positions open elsewhere. So, it all works together for the benefit of everyone.

Businesses exist to meet human needs. Human needs are great right now. Thinkers and doers who rise to the occasion and meet these needs are going to prosper.

The belief that the present state of the economy is limiting workers from finding profitable work is a chance to prove otherwise. The work we collectively do tomorrow may look much different than it did yesterday, but nonetheless, millions of people are reaching out for progressive ways to live, and those who respond find themselves employed.

The Christian Science practice is certainly one area of work in great demand today. People in ever-increasing numbers are turning to God for help, seeking healing through prayer and looking for spiritually minded professionals to help them.

It seems to me that any area of employment that meets people’s needs is going to be in demand and offer work to those willing to do it.

God employs the unemployed by giving them the ideas, inspiration, wisdom, guidance and direction they need to meet those needs. It takes a lot of humility and persistence to hear these ideas amidst the clamor of mortal mind trying to discourage and stop initiative. But hear those ideas we must, for through them we triumph over the lies of lack and demonstrate supply here and now.

Staying fully employed

With massive lay-offs occurring and hiring freezes in place, workers are concerned about holding onto their jobs or finding new ones.

These trying economic times demand a spiritual perspective that enables one to stay employed and profitably engaged regardless of depressing statistics spewing over the headlines.

Employment is much more than occupying a seat in a cubicle and typing on a keyboard, or standing at a counter checking out items.

Employment is about meeting needs--genuine needs. It’s about engaging with activity that has value and worth and supplying services that improve the experience of humanity.

Times have changed, and jobs that were necessary a few years ago are no longer necessary, thus the layoffs. But humanity’s needs are greater than ever. People, by the millions, are crying out for solutions to problems they face, much more than even a few months ago. The opportunity for employment is greater than ever. People who discern these needs and meet them are going to stay fully employed.

The workers who are highest in demand are those who accurately discern the needs of customers, or potential customers, and meet them.

The ultimate demonstration of employment was Jesus Christ who never lacked for work. And he never worried about collecting a paycheck either. “The laborer is worthy of his hire,” he taught.

As Jesus went about his Father’s business of helping and healing others, his needs were met. People gave him food. Rich widows provided money for his band of workers. Even though he had enemies determined to stop him, those whom he blessed rose to his aide and met many of his temporal needs. The law of Love he lived provided for him on all sides of his experience. He never lacked.

We are all healers.

Working is about healing others, bringing solutions into their lives, discerning their needs and meeting them, unselfishly giving where there is opportunity to give and not complaining if extra unselfishness is required on our part. We are worthy of our hire, and will receive reward for success that genuinely advances the community we work in.

Employment is not watching the clock tick until 5 in the afternoon. Employment is not bidding time until retirement. Employment is not an entitlement because of seniority. Employment is not always doing what we want to do. Employment is about serving God and serving others in productive and profitable ways. It’s about being flexible, versatile, creative, ingenious, discerning, responsive, and out going. It’s about helping and healing others in need by meeting those needs.

There is more opportunity than ever for employment today for the chorus of voices rising in distress is greater than it has been in a long time. God gives us the skill, talent, ability and love necessary to respond to those calls of distress, and keep ourselves fully employed helping out. Each of us has a special employment niche to occupy, but every job comes down to the same basic task—helping and healing others.

As we look for opportunities around us to help and heal, we’ll find plenty of work to keep us fully employed.

And pay the bills too!

If you don't like your job

What do you do if you don’t like your job?

With unemployment rising, thousands of people are finding themselves out of work and often accepting jobs they would not choose if better options were available. But they’re committed to supporting a family, keeping their debt down and pulling their weight, so they do what they have to do to keep their financial house in order and pray that career choices will improve over time.

So, does one have to suffer in the meantime, harbor discouragement, anger, and frustration about accepting a position they would not otherwise choose?

Absolutely not! It’s a time to grow spiritually and become a better person, employee and worker to prepare for a brighter tomorrow.

When I was a senior at Stanford, I couldn’t decide what job to take. None appealed to me. I settled for working on the family farm. At least it brought in an income, I decided. After a couple of years, though, I hated my job. I wanted out, but I couldn’t see where to go.

God said to me, “Be patient, until a clear path opens before you.” I obeyed, although it was a huge struggle at times. But my patience paid off.

Rather than agonizing over the job I didn’t like, I focused on becoming a more spiritually minded person. I worked on improving my attitude toward others, on being more joyful, wiser, and a better healer.

I spiritualized my work. Instead of picking apples, I harvested inspired ideas. Instead of pulling weeds, I yanked out bothersome ways of thinking. Instead of complaining, I looked for reasons to be grateful and rejoice.

It took three years, but eventually my thought got inspired enough to see a new job possibility that got me excited. The timing was perfect. I was ready to move, and I did. It was in God’s time, and not in Evan’s time. And it was one of the best changes I've ever made.

Divine Love provides for everyone. In Christian Science, we learn to hold the ideal at the forefront of our thought, but we often don't reach that ideal in one step. It typically takes many steps to reach the final destination.

With the economy, we might have an ideal job firmly planted in our mind, but not see how it can be immediately realized. That is no reason to get discouraged and worried. If the ideal seems afar off, there is always a step in the right direction we can take, and with patience, patience, work, and more patience, step by step we outgrow the lesser and enter the more expansive. God’s law of progress guarantees it.

Staying fully employed

With the unemployment rate rising, corporate lay-offs dominating economic news, and workers wondering about job security, this is an opportune time to elevate one’s understanding of what it means to be employed.

People frequently think of employment as a secured position that draws a paycheck from another individual, institution, company or government. This view of employment is fraught with danger and uncertainty, though, because human trusts are not always reliable. Companies lay workers off. Institutions fail. Corporations file for bankruptcy. Then what?

Jesus Christ had a better understanding of employment. He said, “I am about my Father’s business.” He never put his financial well being at the mercy of an earthly entity that may or may not come through with its promises. He put his whole trust in God. He worked for God, and very consciously so. And he was always fully employed, fully cared for, and was able to bless thousands of others through the abundance consciousness he reflected. We have his example to follow.

One aspect of employment is listening for progressive ideas coming from God, and then acting on them. That’s what Jesus did. He listened and followed. This is what all gainfully employed workers do. They listen for wise ideas, act on them, and in turn, are able to perform their work well. The best ideas are coming from God and lead to the best results.

We live in a divine economy where God is the placement officer for every worker. In changing economic times, like the global economy faces today, it’s not a time to fear unemployment, but a time to stay tuned-in to the most rewarding, worthwhile and profitable way to use one’s mental time and resources.

Gainful employment is the outcome of gainful employment of one’s thinking. One might ask, "Where are my talents and abilities going to be put to best use?" And by "where," it's not necessarily with a particular company, but with a demand of the times. People are in great need just about everywhere. Workers who meet these needs are going to be gainfully employed because they are responding to a current demand.

I find this rule true in my practice. If I have a lull in calls from patients for help, I write an article addressing a world need. Without fail, patients start calling in soon with needs to be met.

Seismic shifts are taking place in industry, commerce and technology. Over the long run, workers are going to be moved from the least profitable enterprises to the more profitable ones. To prosper, workers need to be flexible, attentive to new demands, ready to move, adjust and adapt to the changing times.

No one will be left out. Everyone has a niche to fill in the ever-advancing demands of Life, Truth and Love expressed. But it does take consecrated prayer, humility, listening and obedience to rise to the demands of the times and make the most of them.

Employment is not what we do with our hands, but what we do with our thought. Gainfully employed thought leads to gainfully employed actions.

So, whether we hold a job title with a company at the moment or not, our employment status with God remains unchanged. It’s labeled, Fully Employed! God moves us about from one business to the other depending upon the needs of the times and what we’re ready to express and put into practice. It can be a harmonious and smooth transition as we listen, pray, and humbly follow where the divine finger points. There doesn’t have to be a long drawn-out period of time or increasing debt in the meantime. Divine Love’s provision is immediate, with no conditions attached. And the provision includes blessings for you too!

What's in your In Box?

A worker complained of too much to do and not enough time to do it in. Her In Box was overflowing, she fretted. And it was growing, not shrinking!

Have you ever felt that way? Overwhelmed by too much to do?

In a moment of inspiration, I typed back, “God is the In Box and you are the Out Box. Your In Box is overflowing all right, but not with too much to do. It’s overflowing with opportunities to express the wisdom and intelligence of divine Mind that enable you to perform your tasks efficiently and timely.”

Back in the early 1990s, I worked at the world headquarters of my church for one year. The position I was asked to fill replaced around 10-15 workers who had been laid off. The In Box on the desk I was assigned was heaping high in letters, memos and notes that needed thoughtful replies, responses and projects completed. It’s was week’s worth of work piled up, and I, one person, was supposed to get it all caught up, quickly. My little human mind could not get its arms around how this was going to happen with even more work coming in. So, I didn’t try to figure it out humanly.

I prayed, and thought, “God does the work. I reflect what God is doing. God can do this, so I will manifest the work getting done.” I didn’t create a work schedule to follow. I just jumped in and whittled the pile down one letter at a time listening for divine direction each word of the way.

God was my In Box. God was my influx of inspiration needed to do the responding. I was the Out Box. I was God’s outflow of wisdom, ingenuity, creativity, and love that got the work done.

It took a while to get to the bottom of that pile, but I got caught up and easily stayed ahead of the pace from then on.

God is your In Box too, and it’s filled with the wisdom, joy and love you need to do your work well.

With this attitude, one can look forward to seeing what is in their In Box each day!

Losing fear of massive layoffs

Citigroup announced today that they will lay off 50,000 employees soon. That is a very large number of workers who will be looking for new jobs. Many other corporations are planning similar reductions in their workforce.

With unemployment growing rapidly this is a good time to know the truth about full employment in order to protect one's job, or to be ready to find new employment if the occasion arises.

I look to the Christian Science practice as the ultimate model for demonstrating successful full employment.

Why?

Because to succeed in the Christian Science practice, you have to demonstrate worth and value without any free rides.

In the practice, you cannot depend upon a company to pay you regardless of your performance. You cannot expect someone to keep you employed for performing tasks that are suddenly rendered obsolete. In general, society does not have sympathy for you or pity you even though you give heart and soul to better other people’s lives. There are a large number of detractors who want you unemployed and mentally work against you to that end. It takes a strong faith, deep understanding of spiritual supply, and firm conviction to succeed at staying fully employed in the CS practice.

Yet, as demanding as the demonstration is on one’s faith in God in the full-time practice of CS, thousands have succeeded. They have faced down the beasts of poverty and lack, seen through their lies, and demonstrated supply in their healing work. Not theoretical airy-fairy supply solely in one’s mind, but hard cash to pay the bills. And many have done very well at it.

A practitioner does not recruit clientele, flood the mail with resumes, or talk himself up to gain business. A practitioner follows the model Jesus Christ has given to let one's light shine. It's their light that attracts the clientele. Christly love helps and heals the patient. And results bring them back.

While praying about employment for several of my patients recently, it occurred to me that every worker, no matter what virtuous field occupied or job opportunity needed, is being asked to demonstrate the model of the CS practitioner to some degree.

With these massive layoff announcements, many of the people losing their jobs did nothing wrong. Their jobs became casualties of the larger economic calamity the world is grappling with. Yet, they still need a job, and the old field they worked in might not exist anymore.

Would this type of scenario phase the CS practitioner? Nope, because the practitioner does not look to the world for help or support. He or she looks directly to God for guidance, and relies upon the resources of Love to continue demosntrating worth and value that creates demand for his or her services.

For instance, a practitioner has to constantly adapt to the needs of the moment. One day, there may be a rash of heart cases to heal. Another day, it might be the flu. Another day marriage problems, or too many bills, or depression or...? A practitioner has to be mega-flexible, always adjusting to the demand of the moment. He is able to do this because he is not drawing upon personal abilities to aid his clients. He is drawing upon the infinite resources of divine Love, which work in any and every situation presented.

Anyone looking for a job, can rely upon these same unlimited resources.

Successful employment is about working for God, not for self.

God is the Head Employer over all, giving workers the talents, skills, ideas, and inspiration they need to demonstrate value and worth. The kind of “cases,” or work, one is called upon to do may change day by day, or year by year, as many workers are finding now with job phase-outs. But when one is drawing upon the Big Boss for help needed, its easier to adapt and meet the demands of the moment.

As an active practitioner discovers, there is never a shortage of people to help and needs to be met. The brighter one’s light, the more the need is apparent and the starker the opportunities staring one in the face.

With today’s economy there is no shortage of people in need of help and services. There is a demand for people to listen better for how they can help others in need. Those who discern the supply that meets the contemporary demand for help will find ample work awaiting them, and they will flourish.

They also will never fear being out of a job again, for unemployment is impossible when working for divine Love. EVERYONE needs Love....

Be flexible

The banking crisis around the world and the consequent strains on the economy are requiring people to be more flexible.

I work with many businessmen and women in my practice, and over the last couple of months, they have had traditional sources of income and financing dry up, overnight. To survive, they’ve had to think out of the box, look for new and creative ways to finance their operations and carry on business. They’ve had to be flexible.

One has to keep a spiritual perspective to survive times like we’re in right now. A saving truth is that God provides, always. There is always enough supply to meet needs. But the human source we’re accustomed to providing that need may change with time and circumstances. And this is where we have to be flexible.

I know on the family farm I was raised on, when times got tough dad changed plans. He grew different crops, searched out more productive seeds and higher yielding tree stock. He changed his practices to adjust to the need of the moment. He was flexible. And in the long run, he prospered. Farmers that were not willing to change and be flexible frequently lost their land.

This rule of being flexible to adjust to changing times applies to all forms of employment.

I think of employment as serving others. People’s needs create demand for services and products, and workers who are responsive to that demand are rewarded.

Many people are suffering right now from the financial calamity encircling the globe. Needs are great. Workers who respond to those needs and provide solutions are going to be rewarded.

People get hung up on job titles, and the effect can be one of limitation. For example, if a computer programmer works on a certain type of software for years, and suddenly that software is phased out, to stay employed, he has to adapt. He has to learn how to work with currently operating programs.

Right now, many traditional sources of income are drying up for many workers. Times are changing. But the supply that meets their need is still pouring forth. And that supply, is wisdom, intelligence, ability and capacity to perform well coming from God.

The supply coming from God is adaptable to any changing human circumstance. If we lose our job, we do not lose our supply. The wisdom and ability of God is still coming our way, and we can rely upon it to find a new and better job, if necessary. We can be flexible.

Flexibility is a quality of God.

God is infinitely flexible, never stiff, rigid, stubborn, bound up in pride, or close-minded. God sees all the options, provides all the opportunities, and ensures each of us has the talents, skills and abilities we need to benefit from divine Mind’s infinite blessings. We have to be flexible at times to continue participating in the bounty, but that’s okay, because being flexible keeps us permanently and fully employed. And that’s a good thing.

Common work, uncommon joy

"To do a common thing, uncommonly well, that brings success."
~ Henry John Heinz

Have you ever believed you needed something more to be successful?

“I need more money.”

“I need more support.”

“I need to live in a different place.”

“I need…???”

Any of these feelings feel familiar?

It helps me to remember that to be successful at whatever we do, the primary need is always spiritual, and often includes greater gratitude for what we already possess.

When I farmed years ago, I studied what differentiated the successful farmers from the unsuccessful growers. The difference wasn’t who had the most land, the largest bank account, the newest equipment, or the better luck. It was those who worked the hardest, loved their work the most, and learned how to do a better job at growing their crops. It was the spiritual qualities they possessed and faithfully reflected that prospered their business.

Planting seeds, irrigating plants, and picking fruit, for those in the agriculture industry, are very common “things.” But those who do it uncommonly well stand out far and above those who don’t.

Doesn’t the same rule apply to every type of employment?

Look around you and you’ll notice countless “common” people who are successful, not because they are movie stars or of special privilege, but because they are doing something common uncommonly well.

Teachers, salespeople, mothers, coaches, fathers, students, cooks, lawyers, programmers… The best ones take a common task and do it unusually well.

Each of us can do the same!

It’s not material factors such as financial backing that determine success. It’s God’s qualities in action that reward worthy effort and breed achievement.

Each of us are the talented offspring of the one infinitely intelligent divine Mind. We were created able, capable, wise, discerning, full and complete.

What appears to be common work can be turned into uncommon joy as we exercise these divine qualities abundantly and live true to our spiritual endowments.

Do what you love

Many surveys indicate that a large percentage of the workforce do not like their jobs. This is unfortunate.

I’ve learned from experience the value of doing work you love.

Twenty-four years ago, I had a job I detested. It made me ill, depressed and empty-feeling to stay in it. Finally, after five years of steadfast prayer for a better direction, I found the spiritual courage and commitment to enter a career I really wanted. Prospects of financial success were dim, but suffering in the old job had been so great, I lost my fear of a low income.

The switch was one of the wisest decisions I ever made. Yes, my income sunk—for a few years—but my happiness and health increased exponentially. I looked forward to getting up in the morning, and I loved my work.

I’ve also learned that doing what you love can be a selfish enterprise if self-serving and not for the benefit of others. Those intentions will not be blessed. You have to make a positive difference in other people’s lives.

If our motives are unselfish with a desire and ability to genuinely help friends and neighbors, God will bless our efforts. What appears to be a financially impossible proposition can blossom into a very profitable activity.

Do what you love. Love to serve. And the presence of divine Love you feel within and express without will prosper you in your work.