For the past couple of years, I have belonged to a fitness center. One day I was working out, and there was a group of women having a conditioning class not far from me. They became interested in what I was doing and actually began to applaud as I tumbled about on the artificial turf. The atmosphere was congenial and a good time was had by all. I share the simple joy of these moments as a prelude to what followed.
When I arrived home later in the day, I went out to the mailbox to pick up my local newspaper. As I began to read, I came across a disturbing article describing a mass killing at a fitness club outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In light of what I had experienced earlier at the gym, this was very dark news indeed, and in sharp contrast to what had gone on earlier in the day. It reminded me of what Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “. . . it is well to remember how fleeting are human joys” (p. 66). As I continued to gaze at the newspaper, I was struggling to free myself from the mounting fear and insecurity associated with what appeared to be a sad coincidence, a mockery of joy.
Fortunately, earlier in the day, as I studied and prayed, a spiritual idea, or “angel message,” had come to me in just these words: “Always start with God and work out from there.” The wording of this simple but profound message informed me that I am always “working out” from God, divine Mind, and not so much “working on” a set of physical or even mental skills.
