How does one spend 35 years wrongfully in prison, and come out with no bitterness? Watch an inspiring video of James Bain briefly telling his story.
Bain spent 35 years in a metal and concrete prison and shouldn't have.
Prisons take many different forms for different people. Some spend even longer time in health prisons, relationship prisons, and fear prisons. Bain's example, tenacity, and enduring hope and faith are examples for all to learn from. He came out of his ordeal in a right state of mind that will serve him well. He is not going to let the past weigh down his future. He truly is a free man, and was all along in many ways that others in similar situations are not. He never lost hope.
James Bain video
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Thursday, November 6, 2008
My Fichus tree and the economy
A week ago, the Fichus tree in my office was shedding leaves by the hundreds every day. It’s a little tree, about 5 feet high, and I started to worry that it was dying.
“There weren’t going to be any leaves left,” I feared.
When I arrived at the office in the morning, leaves were on the floor to be swept up. I’d shake the limbs to separate any loose foliage so I wasn’t picking up a parade of dropping leaflets all day long.
One day, when the refuse was especially large, I noticed a third of the remaining leaves were yellow and ready to depart soon.
Why was my tree a goner? I wondered.
Then one afternoon, as I sat at my desk and stared at my sad looking tree, I noticed that there were a lot of leaves still on the branches. Maybe too many, I exclaimed. Could it be that the tree was shedding excess leaves from heavy summer growth, and preparing for a fresh new year? I pondered.
The next day, after several hundred more leaves fell, I noticed there were still a lot leaves on the tree. The plant appeared better balanced without the extra foliage. I decided that maybe the shedding was a yearly ritual to bring the upper structure into line with the supporting root system.
After hundreds more leaves fell, and still the limbs looked adequately clothed, I finally decided that the tree was in fine health, was not dying at all, and I had nothing to be concerned about.
Today, the tree looks beautiful, fit, and healthy. See below picture!
I saw an analogy between the falling leaves and the failing economy many fear today.
Terrified investors and worried business people are seeing signs of financial death all over the world. The media reports economical symptoms of demise everyday with increased layoffs, unpaid debt, shortage of credit, failing banks and more.
Like my falling leaves, if one watches only the failures, pretty soon, they might conclude that all is hopeless and lost, just like I thought my tree was lost.
But this need not be.
Just as my tree was not dying, the economy is not dying. It is rejuvenating, preparing for tomorrow, getting healthier and stronger for a better future.
The same law of balance that adjusted the foliage on my tree is adjusting our economy, eliminating what led to suffering and making way for the new and improved.
In the divine economy, supply and demand are in perfect balance, always. Human consciousness has yet to realize this truth and fully understand it, so, in its efforts to conduct business, it sometimes gets out of balance and takes on extreme forms like we’ve witnessed in our world economy over the last couple of decades.
But no matter what extreme the human is pushed to, God’s law of balance is constantly at work requiring conformity. The Christ is ever-present in human consciousness bringing extremes back into line with what more nearly represents the divine economy. The law of balance wipes out the extremes, and restores order.
Motives and desires have gotten out of whack with divine expectations in some corners of our economic structure. Too much greed, dishonesty, lust and impatience have governed decision-making, and caused distortions that led to gross loss and suffering. God’s law will not allow it to continue. Truth requires error to be seen and rectified.
While the “leaves are falling,” out of the economy, it’s important that we not get overwhelmed with dismay and discouragement. We have to step back from the carnage, and look for the good that remains, and be grateful for it. It is abundant! We can protect ourselves from the fallout by living God’s law of balance faithfully, and not letting our decision-making be influenced by any of the extremes that are undergoing correction.
The underlying structure of our economy is immortal. It is spiritual, governed and controlled by the divine Mind. It will prevail and prosper.
As we all acknowledge the one Mind in control, and live in harmony with it, the divine economy will become more evident in everyday human transactions, and the extremes will be eliminated. Balance will prevail, and harmony restored.
These are not times to sit by and observe. We need to jump in with prayer and help all people overwhelmed by fear, be freed of their fears.
My Fichus tree was going to live whether I prayed or not. The law of balance was at work ensuring its survival. But I did need to pray to figure that out for myself.
The same rule applies to the economy. It is going to survive and be fine, but prayer is needed to help ourselves and our neighbor see all is well, so we can make sound decisions accordingly.
If I hadn’t prayed about my tree, I might have cut it down prematurely, and that wouldn’t have been wise! I needed to pray to keep myself from injuring the plant and making things worse.
My, oh my, what lessons can be learned from a Fichus…
My Fichus tree today!
“There weren’t going to be any leaves left,” I feared.
When I arrived at the office in the morning, leaves were on the floor to be swept up. I’d shake the limbs to separate any loose foliage so I wasn’t picking up a parade of dropping leaflets all day long.
One day, when the refuse was especially large, I noticed a third of the remaining leaves were yellow and ready to depart soon.
Why was my tree a goner? I wondered.
Then one afternoon, as I sat at my desk and stared at my sad looking tree, I noticed that there were a lot of leaves still on the branches. Maybe too many, I exclaimed. Could it be that the tree was shedding excess leaves from heavy summer growth, and preparing for a fresh new year? I pondered.
The next day, after several hundred more leaves fell, I noticed there were still a lot leaves on the tree. The plant appeared better balanced without the extra foliage. I decided that maybe the shedding was a yearly ritual to bring the upper structure into line with the supporting root system.
After hundreds more leaves fell, and still the limbs looked adequately clothed, I finally decided that the tree was in fine health, was not dying at all, and I had nothing to be concerned about.
Today, the tree looks beautiful, fit, and healthy. See below picture!
I saw an analogy between the falling leaves and the failing economy many fear today.
Terrified investors and worried business people are seeing signs of financial death all over the world. The media reports economical symptoms of demise everyday with increased layoffs, unpaid debt, shortage of credit, failing banks and more.
Like my falling leaves, if one watches only the failures, pretty soon, they might conclude that all is hopeless and lost, just like I thought my tree was lost.
But this need not be.
Just as my tree was not dying, the economy is not dying. It is rejuvenating, preparing for tomorrow, getting healthier and stronger for a better future.
The same law of balance that adjusted the foliage on my tree is adjusting our economy, eliminating what led to suffering and making way for the new and improved.
In the divine economy, supply and demand are in perfect balance, always. Human consciousness has yet to realize this truth and fully understand it, so, in its efforts to conduct business, it sometimes gets out of balance and takes on extreme forms like we’ve witnessed in our world economy over the last couple of decades.
But no matter what extreme the human is pushed to, God’s law of balance is constantly at work requiring conformity. The Christ is ever-present in human consciousness bringing extremes back into line with what more nearly represents the divine economy. The law of balance wipes out the extremes, and restores order.
Motives and desires have gotten out of whack with divine expectations in some corners of our economic structure. Too much greed, dishonesty, lust and impatience have governed decision-making, and caused distortions that led to gross loss and suffering. God’s law will not allow it to continue. Truth requires error to be seen and rectified.
While the “leaves are falling,” out of the economy, it’s important that we not get overwhelmed with dismay and discouragement. We have to step back from the carnage, and look for the good that remains, and be grateful for it. It is abundant! We can protect ourselves from the fallout by living God’s law of balance faithfully, and not letting our decision-making be influenced by any of the extremes that are undergoing correction.
The underlying structure of our economy is immortal. It is spiritual, governed and controlled by the divine Mind. It will prevail and prosper.
As we all acknowledge the one Mind in control, and live in harmony with it, the divine economy will become more evident in everyday human transactions, and the extremes will be eliminated. Balance will prevail, and harmony restored.
These are not times to sit by and observe. We need to jump in with prayer and help all people overwhelmed by fear, be freed of their fears.
My Fichus tree was going to live whether I prayed or not. The law of balance was at work ensuring its survival. But I did need to pray to figure that out for myself.
The same rule applies to the economy. It is going to survive and be fine, but prayer is needed to help ourselves and our neighbor see all is well, so we can make sound decisions accordingly.
If I hadn’t prayed about my tree, I might have cut it down prematurely, and that wouldn’t have been wise! I needed to pray to keep myself from injuring the plant and making things worse.
My, oh my, what lessons can be learned from a Fichus…
My Fichus tree today!Monday, November 5, 2007
Sinking at sea
I was told today about a 90 year old woman who was swimming in the ocean recently. She is evidently admired by many friends as a person of great faith in God’s ability to help at anytime.
While swimming, a heart problem developed and began to incapacitate her. She started to sink and knew she was in serious trouble.
Not losing her faith, she prayed for what to do. An inner voice told her to raise her arm above the surface of the water, and someone would see her.
She obeyed.
At a distance, a stranger in a boat sees her arm signaling above the water, comes to her immediate rescue, and takes her safely to shore.
After hearing this story, I thought about times over the years when I was “sinking at sea” and fast feeling hopeless. But God told me to “raise my hand for help,” and someone came to my rescue.
It’s comforting to know that we are never alone. God is always there and can help in unpredictable ways.
But we mustn't forget to raise our hand if needed!
While swimming, a heart problem developed and began to incapacitate her. She started to sink and knew she was in serious trouble.
Not losing her faith, she prayed for what to do. An inner voice told her to raise her arm above the surface of the water, and someone would see her.
She obeyed.
At a distance, a stranger in a boat sees her arm signaling above the water, comes to her immediate rescue, and takes her safely to shore.
After hearing this story, I thought about times over the years when I was “sinking at sea” and fast feeling hopeless. But God told me to “raise my hand for help,” and someone came to my rescue.
It’s comforting to know that we are never alone. God is always there and can help in unpredictable ways.
But we mustn't forget to raise our hand if needed!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The bigger picture
When you read the headlines in the US these days, you would think the most important events going on in the world are the Iraq war and the upcoming presidential primaries. These are certainly significant activities, and need to be honored and valued, especially a quick and appropriate resolution of the war. But it occurred to me recently that there is a bigger development going on in the world that we often lose sight of. And it’s a spiritualization of thought that leads people to see, eventually, that life is ever new and safe in God.
In thinking back on my early years, I was raised on a family farm where there always seemed to be some calamity or difficulty that needed to be mastered. Either a frost hit the apples, or hallow heart (a brown cavity in the middle of the spud) struck the potato crop, or interest rates were sky high, or yields were down, or the price of crops plunged. There was frequently some pressing need of the moment that seemed to eclipse everything else in life if we let it. Focus on those troubles often kept attention mesmerized in a state of despair and possibly forgetting the bigger perspective, that no matter what happened on the farm, life would go on.
And it did. Life always went on. We survived every year, every calamity, every catastrophe, and every disaster. A new year always showed up, a fresh start always presented itself, and the opportunity to prosper and succeed never left. Through often incredible patience, perseverance and persistent faith, we flourished over the long run.
When watching the news, I like to remind myself that there is more going on in the world than the news anchors report. There is always an undercurrent of Truth at work sustaining us regardless of what happens materially. Wars, political debates, and weather present challenges that we must face and resolve, but we must never lose the spiritual perspective and believe that any of these troubles are the sum total of existence. There is always a bigger picture to appreciate and remember than the material senses present.
There is a God that helps us. There is a Life that never ends. And there is a Mind that protects and saves us eternally. We are spiritual beings living a spiritual life that we never lose, no matter what mortality throws at us. There is a spiritual reality that prevails, survives and thrives forever.
I learn from this to mentally stay in divine reality so dismay over things gone awry in the temporal does not overtake my thinking and cast me into a pit of despair. Truth is always the victor, and it’s only a question of time and spiritual growth that this is proven to be true.
As was true back on the farm, there was always a fresh New Year right around the corner. Trials were left behind, and new opportunities were embraced that demonstrated the infinite renewal of Spirit.
Politicians will debate for eons to come, conflict will demand resolution, and chaos will cry out for order and peace, but through it all, Truth will prevail. Life in Spirit will continue to thrive and survive, and present endless opportunities for humanity to progress and continue growing closer to that final day when all faith in evil is left behind and the omnipresence of good and divine Love is fully accepted and experienced. Heaven!
In thinking back on my early years, I was raised on a family farm where there always seemed to be some calamity or difficulty that needed to be mastered. Either a frost hit the apples, or hallow heart (a brown cavity in the middle of the spud) struck the potato crop, or interest rates were sky high, or yields were down, or the price of crops plunged. There was frequently some pressing need of the moment that seemed to eclipse everything else in life if we let it. Focus on those troubles often kept attention mesmerized in a state of despair and possibly forgetting the bigger perspective, that no matter what happened on the farm, life would go on.
And it did. Life always went on. We survived every year, every calamity, every catastrophe, and every disaster. A new year always showed up, a fresh start always presented itself, and the opportunity to prosper and succeed never left. Through often incredible patience, perseverance and persistent faith, we flourished over the long run.
When watching the news, I like to remind myself that there is more going on in the world than the news anchors report. There is always an undercurrent of Truth at work sustaining us regardless of what happens materially. Wars, political debates, and weather present challenges that we must face and resolve, but we must never lose the spiritual perspective and believe that any of these troubles are the sum total of existence. There is always a bigger picture to appreciate and remember than the material senses present.
There is a God that helps us. There is a Life that never ends. And there is a Mind that protects and saves us eternally. We are spiritual beings living a spiritual life that we never lose, no matter what mortality throws at us. There is a spiritual reality that prevails, survives and thrives forever.
I learn from this to mentally stay in divine reality so dismay over things gone awry in the temporal does not overtake my thinking and cast me into a pit of despair. Truth is always the victor, and it’s only a question of time and spiritual growth that this is proven to be true.
As was true back on the farm, there was always a fresh New Year right around the corner. Trials were left behind, and new opportunities were embraced that demonstrated the infinite renewal of Spirit.
Politicians will debate for eons to come, conflict will demand resolution, and chaos will cry out for order and peace, but through it all, Truth will prevail. Life in Spirit will continue to thrive and survive, and present endless opportunities for humanity to progress and continue growing closer to that final day when all faith in evil is left behind and the omnipresence of good and divine Love is fully accepted and experienced. Heaven!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Looking for an exit door?
A woman commented to me recently that her business was locked into a debt repayment schedule that had no exit door for her company in the event income temporarily dwindled and a payment was missed or late. She feared losing her whole company to creditors.
The words “no exit door,” caught my attention. In my understanding of God’s infinite possibilities for progress and healing, I know there is no such thing as having no exit door to freedom. There is always an exit door, and it’s labeled, “God.”
But I pondered how often people do feel locked up in what they perceive to be impossible and hopeless situations.
The prison they fear could be delinquent mortgage payments threatening the loss of their home, a disease, or hate harming a precious relationship. From a material point of view, prison walls seem to appear all around in the human experience.
But we are never locked into a state of hopelessness, for we are not limited material people. We are unlimited spiritual children of God! There is always a way out, a spiritual way out of the trouble we dread.
This is an extreme example, but I’m sure Jesus felt locked into a very unfair circumstance when facing impending crucifixion. From a human point of view, his future looked extremely dismal. A court trial set, unfair judges, rulers bent on destroying him, a cross, death, a tomb…how much worse could it get?
He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus felt locked into a very evil situation, and he was looking for an exit door. But he also knew better than to doubt God’s omnipresent and all-wise care. He continued to pray, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” During his prayer, he let go of his fear of death, and settled into a consciousness of eternal Life, and this transition in thought proved to be his exit door.
He realized to a greater degree that he lived in God, Spirit, and not in matter, and therefore had nothing to fear. His substance was spiritual, his self was spiritual, and his life-work was spiritual. None of his good could be lost, for it was indestructible, in Spirit.
His trust was soon vindicated when he walked out of the tomb alive triumphant over his enemies’ attack.
We too have our exit door to walk through when feeling imprisoned. It’s never a debt, a boss, a spouse, a job, or a disease that imprisons us. The prison is never material. It’s fear of matter or material circumstances.
We break the fear by knowing we belong to God, and not to evil, by understanding that we are spiritual beings reflecting the infinite possibilities of Life. There are no limits on our Life in Spirit.
Life in Spirit is our exit door from any matter-prison that mortal mind wants to build around our sense of possibility.
We are not material. Our supply is not material. Our health is not material. Our love is not material, and therefore never at the mercy of material circumstance. We are spiritual, and everything about us that is important and significant is spiritual too.
Living in Spirit is our wide-open exit door to any freedom we yearn for. Feel free to walk through it today!
Joy,
The words “no exit door,” caught my attention. In my understanding of God’s infinite possibilities for progress and healing, I know there is no such thing as having no exit door to freedom. There is always an exit door, and it’s labeled, “God.”
But I pondered how often people do feel locked up in what they perceive to be impossible and hopeless situations.
The prison they fear could be delinquent mortgage payments threatening the loss of their home, a disease, or hate harming a precious relationship. From a material point of view, prison walls seem to appear all around in the human experience.
But we are never locked into a state of hopelessness, for we are not limited material people. We are unlimited spiritual children of God! There is always a way out, a spiritual way out of the trouble we dread.
This is an extreme example, but I’m sure Jesus felt locked into a very unfair circumstance when facing impending crucifixion. From a human point of view, his future looked extremely dismal. A court trial set, unfair judges, rulers bent on destroying him, a cross, death, a tomb…how much worse could it get?
He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus felt locked into a very evil situation, and he was looking for an exit door. But he also knew better than to doubt God’s omnipresent and all-wise care. He continued to pray, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” During his prayer, he let go of his fear of death, and settled into a consciousness of eternal Life, and this transition in thought proved to be his exit door.
He realized to a greater degree that he lived in God, Spirit, and not in matter, and therefore had nothing to fear. His substance was spiritual, his self was spiritual, and his life-work was spiritual. None of his good could be lost, for it was indestructible, in Spirit.
His trust was soon vindicated when he walked out of the tomb alive triumphant over his enemies’ attack.
We too have our exit door to walk through when feeling imprisoned. It’s never a debt, a boss, a spouse, a job, or a disease that imprisons us. The prison is never material. It’s fear of matter or material circumstances.
We break the fear by knowing we belong to God, and not to evil, by understanding that we are spiritual beings reflecting the infinite possibilities of Life. There are no limits on our Life in Spirit.
Life in Spirit is our exit door from any matter-prison that mortal mind wants to build around our sense of possibility.
We are not material. Our supply is not material. Our health is not material. Our love is not material, and therefore never at the mercy of material circumstance. We are spiritual, and everything about us that is important and significant is spiritual too.
Living in Spirit is our wide-open exit door to any freedom we yearn for. Feel free to walk through it today!
Joy,
Monday, March 26, 2007
God's love on earth
What God Hath Promised
God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through;
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.
But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.
~ Annie Johnson Flint
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
The Frozen River
Have you ever prayed and prayed and saw no evidence of healing progress?
Don't give up. Truth is always the victor. Ills may appear intransigent and unyielding at times, but they will crumble and dissipate into their native nothingness. God's law of progress is always at work moving us in a healthy direction.
Here's a legend that was reportedly read in Mary Baker Eddy’s home many times at her request that addresses the obstinate belief and restores hope of inevitable cure.
Once the river flowed free and easy over its rocky bed, but one night the temperature of the river dropped a dozen degrees or so, and continued dropping all the next day, and by night it had formed a thin coating of ice under which the river flowed.
Accepting the best of it, the river flowed on under the ice, but that night the coat thickened, crowding the activities of the river further down. This went on until at last the river was a frozen mass. “O dear,” said the river, as it tried to move and couldn’t, “was it ever possible that I was free and could move and will that day ever come again?”
A south wind passed by and said, “If the sun would shine on you it would help you!” and the next day the sun did shine on the river, and the river was glad and full of expectations. “Now I shall flow and be free, but after shining all day nothing happened, and that evening the river was very despondent. But the sun, who had more persistence than the river, came again and shined all day. But nothing happened, and so this little drama went on day after day and week after week, and the river became very discouraged and almost knew it would never flow again, never would be free again.
But the sun kept on shining. And one day the river felt a little loosening. It couldn’t tell just what, but that night, it was solid again, and the river lost hope, but the sun came again the next day and it loosened again—and again at night it froze stiff. “How disgusting” said the river. “Every little bit I gain, I immediately lose it.” But the sun kept shining.
At last the ice broke up into great chunks and floated away so swiftly that the river was all of a quiver. How easily it had all departed.
So with the obstinate case, the first day’s treatment may not melt the ice, nor the second, nor the third,--and at night (in doubt or anxiety) it may freeze up again, but when faithfully followed, and the sunlight of Love is applied untiringly, the change does take place.
Judge not from appearances, neither the first day’s sun nor the last melted the river of ice. It took them both and all the days in between to overcome the condition that had been growing and intensifying for months and years.
It took seven times around the walls of Jericho to reduce them to dust, and who will say which was the most effective trip—the first or the last?
Spiritually, man is already free, and if he can get this established firmly in his thought and hold to it regardless of appearances, the demonstration is made.
Don't give up. Truth is always the victor. Ills may appear intransigent and unyielding at times, but they will crumble and dissipate into their native nothingness. God's law of progress is always at work moving us in a healthy direction.
Here's a legend that was reportedly read in Mary Baker Eddy’s home many times at her request that addresses the obstinate belief and restores hope of inevitable cure.
Once the river flowed free and easy over its rocky bed, but one night the temperature of the river dropped a dozen degrees or so, and continued dropping all the next day, and by night it had formed a thin coating of ice under which the river flowed.
Accepting the best of it, the river flowed on under the ice, but that night the coat thickened, crowding the activities of the river further down. This went on until at last the river was a frozen mass. “O dear,” said the river, as it tried to move and couldn’t, “was it ever possible that I was free and could move and will that day ever come again?”
A south wind passed by and said, “If the sun would shine on you it would help you!” and the next day the sun did shine on the river, and the river was glad and full of expectations. “Now I shall flow and be free, but after shining all day nothing happened, and that evening the river was very despondent. But the sun, who had more persistence than the river, came again and shined all day. But nothing happened, and so this little drama went on day after day and week after week, and the river became very discouraged and almost knew it would never flow again, never would be free again.
But the sun kept on shining. And one day the river felt a little loosening. It couldn’t tell just what, but that night, it was solid again, and the river lost hope, but the sun came again the next day and it loosened again—and again at night it froze stiff. “How disgusting” said the river. “Every little bit I gain, I immediately lose it.” But the sun kept shining.
At last the ice broke up into great chunks and floated away so swiftly that the river was all of a quiver. How easily it had all departed.
So with the obstinate case, the first day’s treatment may not melt the ice, nor the second, nor the third,--and at night (in doubt or anxiety) it may freeze up again, but when faithfully followed, and the sunlight of Love is applied untiringly, the change does take place.
Judge not from appearances, neither the first day’s sun nor the last melted the river of ice. It took them both and all the days in between to overcome the condition that had been growing and intensifying for months and years.
It took seven times around the walls of Jericho to reduce them to dust, and who will say which was the most effective trip—the first or the last?
Spiritually, man is already free, and if he can get this established firmly in his thought and hold to it regardless of appearances, the demonstration is made.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Help out of distress
Do you love animals? Is it easy for you to see God’s hand at work in their thoughts and actions?
Read the moving story, “Tender Moments,” by Charlotte Edwards. It will warm your heart, and possibly bring a tear of rejoicing to your eye…
Read the moving story, “Tender Moments,” by Charlotte Edwards. It will warm your heart, and possibly bring a tear of rejoicing to your eye…
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Peace and hope
“Never forget that God is able to lift you from fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.”
~ Martin Luther King
~ Martin Luther King
