4B4 Advent - A thought

But of course thinking is a dangerous thing, but perhaps not so dangerous as not thinking!

As I embark upon a reading of Mary Baker Eddy's 'Science and Health' I find myself struck bu a quote from William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet':

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

These words, uttered by Hamlet to Rosencrantz in Act 2, Scene 2 are actually more than they appear and less than they are made of! Let us, for a moment return to the text of the play:

Hamlet: Denmark's a prison.
Rosencrantz: Then is the world one.
Hamlet: A goodly one; in which there are many confines, wards and dungeons, Denmark being one o' the worst.
Rosencrantz: We think not so, my lord.
Hamlet: Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me it is a prison.

Perspective, personal conditions, education and many other elements all conspire to shape our perceptions and judgements. Hamlet may think Denmark a prison, but Rosencrantz thinks not. This quote does not confer right (or wrong) upon a situation, theology or event at all - and yet how many people do I find using it to support the unsupportable or condemn the right? It is merely Hamlet telling another person that from his perspective he is in a bad place, even though others might find it otherwise. In fact, it's not 'thinking' that makes it good or bad but the emotions that cloud the perspective - the 'madness' (real or imaginary) that clouds judgements and makes wrong right (and Vice versa).

This is actually a passage that sums up the place that those who counsel find themselves occupying and voices one of the fundamental truths that we engage in the counselling room, namely:

If someone thinks they have a problem, then regardless of whether the problem actually exists or not, then the problem does exist!"

Thinking does not make right things wrong, nor make wrong things acceptable (morally, Biblically or from a societal standpoint). We know what is wrong by means of many yardsticks and when thinking (or acting) in a specific area, then yardsticks (German 'Kanon'), checks and balances must be used, to do otherwise is to weigh flour in Amperes and measure length in grammes!

I am drawn to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance and the translation of Plato's 'The Phaedrus' by that nice Mr. Pirsig:

"And what is good, Phaedrus, and what is not good - need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"

Natural Law and rational thinking, people who place themselves on pedestals and attack faith and God and many others seek to demonstrate their belief that we do not. The problem is that when our selfish desires or our ignorance, bitterness or prejudice tell us otherwise, then it is obvious that we do.

This is why I have the Bible and live by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as I seek to live as God demands.

How you doing?