Keep rowing

April 3, 2024 | 27 comments

If there is no wind, row.

~ Latin Proverb

The “wind” you need is inspiration coming from God. And it’s blowing your way whenever you need it. Keep rowing.

27 thoughts on “Keep rowing”

  1. Some thoughts I’ve come across and have been pondering:

    ” We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum
    happiness, peace and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude.”
    – Thomas S. Monson

    “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build
    windmills” – Chinese Proverb

    “The happiest people don’t Have the best of everything – they Make the
    best of everything” – Author Unknown

    It is very windy here today – Beautiful, with God’s ever presence. We can
    not see the wind, like God, but we Know it is there/here…Everywhere.

  2. Today is my birthday. There’s been a bit of ongoing struggle over the mortal ideas of “aging.” Seeing lots of new spots and marks and wrinkles and “signs” of a so-called aging physical body have been playing some havoc with my thoughts. Mrs. Eddy said, “Men and women of riper years and larger lessons ought to ripen into health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness or gloom” (S&H p. 248).

    Article from CS Monitor, “Ripening, Not Aging”
    https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/A-Christian-Science-Perspective/2023/0621/Ripening-not-aging

    Guess I will just keep rowing, and growing, in thought and pray to let God help me outgrow these false beliefs. Going to a Greek restaurant for a special lunch with my husband so I will enjoy this day, God’s day. Love to all.

    1. Persistence… This is ironic but this is the third time I am trying to send this
      as the internet/power keeps going out from the wind. Kind of keeping with
      the topic.
      Happy Birth-EveryDay Rose. Every day is an opportunity for us to be
      reborn to the Truth…a clean slate. Thank you for the article(s) (christine, too),
      which are timeless, even tho written in 1935, as are the writings in the Bible
      and Mrs. Eddy’s writings. The Truth is the Truth no matter when written and
      is just as fresh and inspiring today as years ago. “The might of omnipotence
      and the movements of God’s spiritual government, encompassing all things” –
      (thank you, Dennis and Mrs. Eddy).

    2. At the suggestion of a fellow church member, I have replaced “brithday” with “nameday”. Mrs Eddy once answered a student that we stop dying when we stop “borning.”

      1. I love this poem by Lona Ingwerson, C.S.: 🙂
        HAPPY UN-BIRTHDAY
        I’m to record my birth date on line 3.
        Sure.
        But I’ll tell you where I’m not recording it—
        In my consciousness.
        I refuse to be trapped into the
        Birth,
        Maturity,
        Decay syndrome,
        The adolescent/ senile cycle
        With a brief space in the middle
        To hurry up and be prosperous.
        No way.
        I am who I am,
        Created by God
        In His own likeness;
        Not approaching nor retiring
        But there,
        Now,
        Always

      1. Happy Birthday to you dear Linda and Rose! There can be only progress in beauty and in spiritual understanding!
        Lovely day to you both dear friends!♡♡

  3. From the Glossary in S&H:
    Wind. “That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God’s
    spiritual government, encompassing all things.”

    Now that I have written that, then what can I say to follow that. We don’t stand still we move, make
    an effort, open our eyes to what is good.

    Help me with this.

    1. Hi Dennis, perhaps I can help you a bit with this short Interpretation. When I read that passage in Glossary of our textbook by Mrs. Eddy WIND, I understand that like the fresh wind surrounding us lovely, so the Love and Allness of our omnipotent God surrounds us and all things in His spiritual Universe and governs it absolutely harmonious.

      “Life (God) is movement” Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health”.

      I love that description of WIND in Glossary, because this spiritual Wind is not destroying but rather governing with harmony.
      Mrs. Eddy also says that God’s Law is the only law there is!

      Hope it helps a bit to understand that passage of WIND better!

  4. Dearest Rose,
    Celebrate each and every day with fresh new views of the magnificence and grandeur of the Kingdom of Heaven here and now. Each new dawning of light brings freshness, renewal, rebirth and revitalization to your spiritual identity. Rejoice today in your God-given dominion over the dream of material life! Much love, and many blessings to you.

  5. Carol thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. They were all very interesting and thoughtful!!!

    1. Thank you for your kindness, Lori. : )
      I love how the theme has flowed so gently from wind to rowing to
      agelessness and timelessness. We are all Children of God, living in
      the NOW.
      I don’t know who wrote this, but it reflects our Now-ness and applies
      to each and every one of us in God’s Perfect “time” – where thought
      never ages, because we are reflecting one Mind/God:

      I am the first and I am the last
      There’s only the present, there is no past
      Perfect God and Perfect Child
      Right now, complete and undefiled.

  6. Stay Forever Young.. we sang so loudly..sing NOW,
    forever Amen
    God has no distraction
    Just Love in Action
    Always held in wings of Joy
    fluttering irrationally
    far beyond mortality…
    the mask fell off and Truth smiles..happy Bird-day, Rose

  7. Yes, Dennis, we just keep on rowing or change the direction in which
    we aim our sails! It is all metaphorical, so fun to think about and play with in your thinking . Is is a colorful journey, though sometimes difficult. We can always lift up our eyes to see all of the good that is up above our mortal conclusions.
    The blessings always outweigh the hard times. I pray this is true for
    you and all Spiritview participants. There is nothing stopping God’s
    inspiration from reaching you.

  8. Hi, Everyone!

    Let me add my good wishes to Rose! Years ago I had an aunt and uncle who changed “birthday” to “Happy Progress Day”! We’re each progressing spiritually as we go forward–no “regressing” or “aging”.

    Warmly,
    Karen

  9. Thank you so much to everyone who gave kind and wise insights on birthdays and aging and warm wishes. I appreciate greatly everyone here on SV and feel the love that is circulating. Blessings to all.

  10. If there is no wind row. Well, my sailing teacher, a seasoned practical man named Clint, taught me that there is never a time when there is no air movement with which to power a sailboat. In a race one time, another woman from Clint’s class and I faced the no wind scenario. We had been told what to do and decided to try it. It took a lot of concentration. We were to look for a slight dark patch on the water, aim the boat for it and when it came, continuously adjust the sail to get the most power out of the puff. You couldn’t even feel any air movement. Just looked at the “tell tails” alternately fluttering on the sail until the puff passed by. We concentrated on this for a couple of hours. I stood up to stretch and looked back and was shocked to see that we had left the fleet way behind. They looked like toy boats bobbing up and down. Then we looked around and only one other boat was up with us—the most experienced sailors in the race were on that boat, and we were pretty green. The take away for me was get the best training. Make a decision to stay in the race, and focus on the task when it would be easy to kick back. Spiritually, get the best training from the Bible and Science and Health, Put it into practice especially in the easy times when the temptation is to relax. In this case, a white squall hit and we were much closer to the finish line and did not have to spend much time in the storm. Many people had to be rescued that day and we won the race. There is never a time when we are without spiritual inspiration. Paying attention to it and putting it into your thought and action will keep you moving forward. Protect you. And bring victory.

  11. I have just checked SV this morning to see if anything else had appeared, and, Kay, this is a really
    inspiring analogy from your sailing experience. To give our whole attention to what we have learned,
    and to follow the expert’s instructions – in CS from Christ. Not to be distracted by what others are doing or believing, and just to continue until we become the victors over the material false senses and their insidious suggestions that we can’t move on because the material conditions aren’t good. Turning away from the material to the spiritual and staying there always wins.
    thank you, Kay.

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