THERE is a poem by Schiller called "Ideals," which is perhaps the most striking expression in human language of the disappointment of mortal existence on the whole, —of the fading away one by one of the glittering hopes of youth, of the loss in the gray evening of realization of the rosy colors of promise seen in the early dawn,—everything a faithless dream except "friendship" and "work."
Now, by the aid of Christian Science one can see, though perhaps dimly at first, that the ideal is the only verity, and that even friendship and work are simply utilized by mortal mind in its effort to create a safe and happy refuge for the future, from the apparent world of facts in which mortal man lives. Yet, out of all this chaos of desire, hope, and aspiration, the ideal remains an eternal fact, an unchanging rock, firm amid the ruins of matter and mortality. The ideal stands for spiritual reality, however imperfectly this may be understood by mankind; it is, however, admitted to be beautiful and useful, although to mortal sense it is seemingly impracticable. When it is realized, it becomes a fact, and our concept of the ideal again takes wing. Thus we are unconsciously helped onward to desire greater heights and nobler outlooks.
There is nothing impossible, nothing that cannot be realized; the highest and even what appears to be the wildest flight of imagination, if it contain beauty, truth, or goodness, can and will be attained as our understanding of God's universe increases and our realization of the spiritual man's power gives us confidence to exercise our dominion over all asserted material laws. Since all things are possible to God, His image and likeness reflects His power also, when obedient to His laws. In St. John's gospel we read, "Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went." In contemplating this example of Jesus' spiritual perception, of his power to apply practically his profound knowledge of God's government, our human ideal of movement appears a paltry thing; the swift flight of a bird, even the rush of the stars and planets through space, are slow in comparison with that perfect realization of the omnipresence of Mind in which action is expressed simultaneously with thought. This is explained in Science and Health (p. 264), where Mrs. Eddy says, "When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness."
