One hot afternoon in 2009, when I was clearing away a wasp nest that had been previously sprayed with poison, a wasp flew out from this area. It wasn’t headed in my direction, but I panicked anyway, flailing my hand at it, and that hand promptly got stung.
Initially I felt I’d gotten what I deserved since the wasp hadn’t attacked me; I had been the aggressor. Then I realized I needed to cease to identify myself as anything less than God’s perfect spiritual idea and to acknowledge that I wasn’t a fearful mortal who’d acted unwisely. My real nature, I affirmed, was that of an immortal, spiritual being who’d never been fearful and was capable of expressing only love and wisdom at all times. As such, I’d done nothing to deserve punishment.
With the acknowledgment of these spiritual facts, the pain immediately began to dissipate and was gone in minutes. (A slight residual sensation took a little longer to fade away.) The swelling that had started never got off the ground, and vanished. All fear also disappeared, and I continued the work of clearing out other nests, completely free of any negative effects from the sting.
