My wife and I recently saw a play in Los Angeles titled 33 Variations, by Moisés Kaufman. In the program notes there’s a quote from the early 20th century Russian novelist Andrei Bely: “An instant of life taken by itself as it is deeply probed becomes a doorway to infinity. The minutiae of life will appear even more clearly to be the guides to eternity.” The drama studies Beethoven’s 33 variations of the musical publisher Anton Diabelli’s simple waltz—and his invitation in 1819–1850 to the world’s greatest composers to write a variation on that waltz. Beethoven couldn’t rest composing only one variation, but spent the next several years inspired by the deeper musical combinations that kept coming to him.
It occurred to me that this same inspiration can be gleaned in moments—what Bely referred to as “the minutia of life.” If we probe deeply into the significance of a word, or an observation, or a single event, we can discern a spiritual opportunity. The Bible and Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures speak of infinite Life, which if infinite in one direction must be so in all directions. Preexistence and eternal life have preoccupied metaphysicians throughout history, but what about the infinite now—the spiritual depth of a moment that to the unaware has no significance whatsoever? It is the inspired thought that recognizes a spiritual dimension or influence—dynamic and active in the present.
How might we explore the spiritual depths of a given moment in time? Mrs. Eddy invites us to journey “deep into realism instead of accepting only the outward sense of things” (Science and Health, p. 129). To me, that is the infinite now—a spiritual awakening that can occur in an instant. At this very moment, each one of us possesses the ability to see through human “evidence” and witness a reflected truth, spiritual depth. We can take a conversation higher, calm a fear, touch another’s heart, and even heal the sick!
