If the question were put, What is the greatest desire common to all peoples? the reply would no doubt be, Happiness. In spite of this, the longing of mankind too often remains unsatisfied, and nothing seems so elusive and transitory as a happy and tranquil state of mind.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the attainment of that mental peace which constitutes a higher sense of happiness is uncertainty, amounting at times to fear and even dread of the future. Things may be well enough today, but what of tomorrow? This fear of the future masquerades in many forms. Some feel that if only financial independence could be secured, then happiness would be theirs. Others consider the attaining and maintaining of sound health a first essential. Still others may believe that they have lacked right opportunity or have been the victims of injustice or jealousy. Such negative thinking loads the future with foreboding and robs the present of its joy.
What is it that presents doubts and fears for our acceptance? It is what St. Paul referred to as the carnal mind, which he said was opposed to God. It is what Mary Baker Eddy terms mortal mind or the material senses. The physical senses would offer evidence of man's materiality. This evidence, however, is unreliable because it is deduced from a false premise, namely, that man lives in matter and thus is subject to its limitation.
