A friend told this little story: A frog had fallen into a deep rut in the road and couldn’t get out. His frog friend tried to help but was unable to get him out of the rut. Finally the friend went to get help. On his way back with the help he came across the stuck frog walking along the road. “I thought you couldn’t get out of the rut,” he said. “Well, I couldn’t,'” the first frog responded. “But a big truck came along, and I had to!”
As human beings, in a sense, we are all like frogs creating big trucks that force us to creatively confront the circumstances and situations arising in daily living and lift us out of our ruts and entrenched beliefs. Problems are each individual’s customized path to “self-discovering.” When ignored or avoided, they dominate us, blinding us to our divinity. Difficulties resolved reveal strengths and vulnerabilities we couldn’t recognize in any other way. Life self-expressing occurs as a continuum of openings for action that demonstrate the impossible becoming what’s possible — the “what is not” becoming “what is.” Life is Infinity identifying itself newly — whole, complete, satisfied and fulfilled. Quoting Laird:
Suppose I have a problem. Now, I know that that problem exists on the human level. It’s in the imagination. It can’t exist any place else. I’m “imagining” a problem because Life is not a problem. Now, I realize that, and I realize that I am making that problem — not I as a person but the reality of me, you might say, is making that problem…. The Reality is all crowded with concepts. It hasn’t broken through. So I realize that there’s nothing for me to do in that instance except to live consciously the Reality — which I’m not doing or I would not see it in the form of a problem. Because the solution of the problem … would have to exist before the problem. In fact, the solution makes the problem. It’s an illustration. And so, you get so you live life that way, and you’re always, you see, permissive. (Laird Seminar-Long Beach 1967)
Problems are simply blindness to what is real. As students of Metaphysical Science, we confront the problem with the discernment of spiritual facts. We leave the problem alone (leave that basis of belief), and live ourselves divinely. Living divinely — consciously acknowledging Love/ Mind in all ways — forms us anew. The God-idea, the presence of the one I or Ego, is seen, heard and felt on the language belief level as concepts and forms. Language is simply a point of view of the Reality present. Substance, existence, cannot be found outside of consciousness or Mind, so its presence says, “I consciously am” but it does not say what I am. Without Being, nothing is present! But views cannot tell us what that something is or the when and where of it. Understanding this point, permissiveness of appearances is the only rational behavior in confronting any view regardless of its apparent severity or threatening appearance. Permissiveness removes the “teeth” from the threat, so to speak, whereas resistance has it persist!
In the understanding that problems are simply questions identifying solutions, problems become no-problems. Every appearance of a “difficulty” challenges our imagination — our capacity to envision that which is not. The human tendency to search the past for answers inhibits imagination and blinds us to the recognition of source. Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Mind, God, is the source and condition of all existence” [italics mine]. (Science and Health 181:1-2) To regard the seen, heard and felt (historical record) as real or as causative evolves the notion that problems are imposed from outside of Mind, are not good news, and that “something is wrong here” whenever appearances fail to please. Any attempt to resolve difficulties from within the paradigm of the difficulty fails to produce a permanent answer since its premise is based on the inaccurate belief that the way it looks is the way it is. Language is never causative, nor does it exist the way it looks.
In human living breakdown precedes breakthrough! When things get bad enough an opening is present to live yourself divinely — whole complete, satisfied and fulfilled. Many times I heard Mrs. Laird say, “Take a hand, God.” Exactly!
From the human viewpoint, whenever we let go of the personal sense of ourselves, and become consciously aware of the facts of our Self being, a whole new possibility for living presents itself (Love’s provision) more nearly filling our human need.
– Betty Albee
Laird 1967 Longbeach Seminar
