If only I was married/not married to him/her, had/didn't have this/that job, lived/didn't live here/there, had/hadn't said this/that, bought/ sold sooner/later.... Human thought frequently argues that the very opposite of the moment's circumstance holds the promise of fulfillment, happiness, a sense of purpose, a reason for going on, and so forth.
While a shift is sometimes necessary or appropriate, the good we're looking for can only come from God, our divine source. Have you ever noticed that the world rarely delivers on its promises? Its rewards are shallow and temporal. Matter and its supposed rewards are always subject to decay. Fashion is always subject to change. Once we achieve some material goal, we soon find ourselves wanting something brighter, fancier.
If we feel there's something wrong or missing in our lives, it might be helpful to consider our purpose in life. Whether or not we have yet realized it, we have a divine commission to take up. In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy writes of our Christly commission, "To obey the Scriptural command, 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate,' is to incur society's frown; but this frown, more than flatteries, enables one to be Christian." Science and Health, p. 238. We need to leave the spurious attractions of the material world behind us and go higher. This enables us to see more of what is real, eternal, and satisfying, and to be healers.
