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!