The Faith Factor

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.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Alan Cohen