The Faith Factor
by Alan Cohen
I went to perform a wedding for my Goddaughter on the island of Hawaii. In
order for me to return home to Maui that evening, I had to book the last flight
out of Kona. The airline reservation agent informed me that I would have to
change planes in Honolulu, and my connection time would be an illegal 25
minutes. If I missed my connection, the airline would not be responsible for me.
Okay, I thought, I?ll take my chances. I love my Goddaughter and would not
miss this opportunity.
I performed the ceremony and sat in the Kona airport reading an inspiring
book, waiting for my flight. Suddenly a voice came over the loudspeaker
announcing that my flight would be departing 15 minutes late. Hmmm. That
whittled my time to change planes down to 10 minutes. My mind started to spin
off into "what if" scenarios, but I decided to not go there and just
practice trusting. Why waste precious moments of life worrying? I decided to use
the experience as an opportunity to stay happy no matter what.
The plane took off late and I refused to look at my watch. I remembered one
of my favorite quotes by Emerson: "The wise man in the storm prays to
God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear." Instead
of trying to dictate how things should work out, I simply asked for peace. I
looked out the window and enjoyed the sunset.
We arrived 15 minutes late, I calmly exited the plane at Gate 53, and walked
to the monitor to find out what gate my next flight was departing from. You can
imagine my surprise when I saw that my flight was leaving from Gate 53. My
flight to Maui was on the same plane I had just sat on! I laughed as I
found my way to the very seat I had just left. No matter how late my first
flight was, I would have been on the second flight.
I believe there was a direct connection between my practicing trust and the
serendipitous result that occurred. Have you ever noticed that when you are
impatient, frazzled, and upset, things go worse, and when you are relaxed,
patient, and trusting, things go better? Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious
Science, taught that there is an Intelligent Power running the universe, and
that Power responds to the thoughts we think in harmony with it. Thinking and
acting with faith changes the results you get. When you find yourself in a
situation in which you seem to have no control, point your thoughts toward
peace, and the universe responds.
I met a waitress who had quit culinary school because she wanted to have a
more direct connection with the people she served. "I can?t imagine being
a chef creating wonderful dishes and not seeing people enjoy them," she
told me. In a sense, we are all like both the chef and the waitress. Part of us
is creating our life by the inner thoughts we think, generating dishes ? for
better or worse ? in private, and dispatching them out into world from behind
a curtain. ("We think in secret, and it comes to pass; environment is
our looking glass.") But there is also a part of us that sees the
dishes when they reach the table and we watch the expressions on the faces of
those who receive them ? including our own.
You have a very real relationship with God, a Force that responds to your
every thought. Not that you are telling God how to run the universe; you are
simply aligning with the Force for your good, or not aligning with it. The more
aligned you are, the better your life goes. Unlike what you may have been told
by fearful teachers, all God wants is for you to be happy. When that is all you
want for yourself, that is what you will have.
I love the character in the movie Shakespeare in Love who kept telling
worried people, "Somehow it will work out." When they asked him how he
knew, he would simply answer, "It?s a mystery!" To the mortal mind
that thinks it has to control and figure everything out, how things will work
out is indeed a mystery. Yet to the part of us that knows we are connected to
Spirit, deeply worthy, and infinitely loved, it is a Universal Law. A Course
in Miracles tells us, "Miracles are natural; when they don?t occur,
something has gone wrong." Einstein put it this way: "There are only
two ways to look at life: One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if
everything is a miracle." Once you become miracle-minded, they show up
wherever you do.
Unity minister Eric Butterworth, while changing planes in Chicago, was
informed that his connecting airplane was disabled, and passengers would be
transferred to a smaller aircraft; passengers would be chosen for this flight by
lottery. Most of the passengers became anxious and angry and lined up to do
battle with airline agents. Rev. Butterworth decided to just relax. He saw one
other fellow who was sitting calmly and went over to talk with him. When the
airline finally announced the lottery selectees, he and the other calm fellow
were called first.
Attitude is more influential than action. Attitude is a very powerful form of
action. Faith is the most powerful form of attitude.
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