A couple of years ago, I was confined to bed for two days because of severe pain in my back. As I was lying there thinking deeply about God, I was surprised to find that I wasn't feeling stressed. In spite of the pain and immobility, I actually had a feeling of freedom. The thought that my well-being didn't seem related to my physical condition made me ask myself, "To what degree is harmony mental?"
I consulted with a great resource on the subject, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and found my answer in this statement: "Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind; nor can the material senses bear reliable testimony on the subject of health" (p. 120). It became clear to me that the book's author, Mary Baker Eddy, was saying that harmony and health are actually spiritual qualities--qualities of God. So they aren't dependent on one's physical health. My well-being, I had to conclude, was actually found in the infinite Mind, called God.
On the same page, Mrs. Eddy went on to say that God reveals each individual as "harmoniously existent in Truth." To me, this means that not even a painful health condition could put me outside the harmony that God created. Regardless of how I was feeling, I could still bring out God's goodness in practical ways—in being loving, for example, especially in thinking about others. This kept me focused on God, rather than on my inability to move. Thinking of health as a spiritual, not a material, condition helped me to see that health can't deteriorate; it's maintained by God. And God's creation can't help but express a constant state of harmony—soundness, vitality, wholeness.
