Risk and accidents

Whoa, I was just hit by a thought that has my mental gears a churnin’. I was discussing how to avoid accidents and injuries with a friend.

And it’s this:

Injuries and accidents are not proof that chance and risk are real. They are evidence that someone believed in a possibility of chance and risk.

I need to think more about what this means and what it implies for daily thinking and spiritual growth, but I believe there is much truth to appreciate here.

For decades, I’ve noticed some people are a lot more prone to accidents than others, and they have different attitudes about life than others too.

I remember when I managed employees on the family farm that I learned to keep one worker in particular off the big equipment because he was always breaking down whenever he went out to the fields. And the break downs were not necessarily stupid things he did. They could be wheels falling off, or pulleys freezing up, motor failures, and other incidents that would be written off as a normal part of wear and tear on the equipment. But the break downs happened so often with him, and not with others, that I eventually decided there was something in his thought that was causing all the unexpected problems.

I believe Mary Baker Eddy glimpsed the solution for preventing accidents when she wrote,

“Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony.

"Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection."

Realistically, I don’t expect to totally demonstrate over the belief of chance in a day, a week, or a year, because the world is so prolific with faith in it, and I’ve probably many places in thought that need to be examined to totally eradicate any faith in risk from my consciousness. But I will hold to the ideal and rise to it as fast as I can.

Especially in my tennis game…oh man, do I have plenty of opportunity to eliminate the belief of chance there!!

Are you willing to take a risk?

Have you ever let “What ifs” or “shoulds” stop you from taking a progressive step?

“What if I fail…”

“I should try this new adventure, but…”

Check out the article “Does stepping out of the boat mean I have to get my hair wet,” by Julie Voorhees.

Among other revealing points, she wrote,

Many of us bury our true selves under the clutter of everyday shoulds. We get stuck in the perceived safety of avoiding risks: of failure, of not being good enough, of abandonment, of harm, of rejection. Our risk avoidance robs us of living valiant and contented lives….

The more we understand Life to be God, infinite Spirit, the “What ifs” and “shoulds,” fall away, and we start to experience more of the grand adventure life is meant to be.

Go for it!


Julie's insights will help.