A VISITOR to Pleasant View in Concord, New Hampshire, was much impressed with the outlook from the rear verandas. It was springtime and in the near foreground was the beautiful garden, beyond which a few cattle were peacefully grazing; while in the distance, beyond woodland and meadows, stood the hills upon which Mrs. Eddy loved to gaze. Surely the peace of the hills symbolized our Leader's persistent lifting of thought above the clamor and discord of mortal opinions to the realm of stillness and security where God abides. Man, as God's idea, being inseparable from Him, dwells forever in the kingdom of heaven, harmony, the realm of actualities, or that which forever endures. Mrs. Eddy's definition of "valley," found on page 596 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," has brought comfort to many who, seemingly walking wearily in the valley of darkness and fear, yet by holding in thought the peace and strength of the spiritual heights above and beyond material sense, have found courage to press on.
Every valley connotes some elevation, and the valley must be traversed if one would reach the heights. Sometimes the valleys are fertile, sometimes rough and tangled. Occasionally, a well-defined path leads through them, and helpful signs left by other travelers along the same road may be found. These way-marks marks one may be willing to heed and obey; yet even though a path is made, each traveler must walk therein of his own volition; no one can do his walking for him. Again, one may have to blaze his own trail. In any case there is always a goal, to reach which one must rise steadily higher if he would gain a broader, clearer view.
One may recall the experience of "Christian," who, as related in "The Pilgrim's Progress," ran along with difficulty, while carrying on his back a pack which seemed to become momentarily heavier. Finally he reached a place where stood a cross and there the burden slipped from his back and rolled down the slope, where it was swallowed up and lost sight of in an open sepulcher, evidently placed there for the purpose of obliterating all such loads, as soon as the burden-bearer awakened to realize that he was not required to carry it.
