In the late 1800s, French impressionist painter Claude Monet painted his famous “Haystack” series, a collection of 25 paintings on this same subject. Monet was fascinated by how his vision of stacks of hay after harvest season changed minute by minute, season by season, depending on time of day, weather, lighting, atmosphere, and perspective.
Years ago there was a time when I felt that healing was not going on in my life. That same year, the largest collection of Monet paintings ever exhibited was held at the Chicago Institute of Art, including many of the legendary “Haystack” paintings. The same idea, painted over and over—and yet each of these paintings unique, with stand-alone beauty. Though Monet was commercially successful through much of his life, it was well documented that painting was an end in and of itself. It never occurred to him that there was anything better to do than pack his lunch and painting supplies each morning and set out to paint.
As I viewed these paintings, it struck me that his seeing the haystacks so differently—moment to moment—is much like our prayer in Christian Science. I find this idea buoying when I am faced with a challenge, and it feels like healing is out of reach.
