A few years ago I was in a Christian Science nursing facility, floundering in my effort to understand what makes life worth living. My husband and many of my friends had passed on. These sources of happiness were gone. Though I really believed Jesus' promise of eternal life and knew that there is no death, that didn't comfort me much at the time. The spiritual fact of eternal life meant that I could not expect death to lift me out of my problems—and that was frustrating.
One day I came upon these words in Mary Baker Eddy's book, Science and Health: "Job said: 'I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.' Mortals will echo Job's thought, when the supposed pain and pleasure of matter cease to predominate. They will then drop the false estimate of life and happiness, of joy and sorrow, and attain the bliss of loving unselfishly, working patiently, and conquering all that is un-like God."Science and Health, p. 262.
From this, I saw that it was absolutely necessary to drop my "false estimate of life and happiness." With gratitude, even amazement, I understood that despite the human circumstances I faced, bliss was possible right then. I began to put into practice the three steps Mrs. Eddy presented for attaining bliss.
