The origin of the universe has been debated since the first human stepped foot on this earth. Many preposterous stories have been proposed. One we’ve all heard, and one of the sweetest, is told of a conversation between a little old lady and William James.
“[…] After a lecture on cosmology and the structure of the solar system, James was accosted by a little old lady.
“Your theory that the sun is the centre of the solar system, and the earth is a ball which rotates around it has a very convincing ring to it, Mr. James, but it’s wrong. I’ve got a better theory,” said the little old lady.
“And what is that, madam?” inquired James politely.
“That we live on a crust of earth which is on the back of a giant turtle.”
James gently responded because he did not want to be disrespectful.
“If your theory is correct, madam,” he asked, “what does this turtle stand on?”
“You’re a very clever man, Mr. James, and that’s a very good question,” replied the little old lady, “but I have an answer to it. And it’s this: The first turtle stands on the back of a second, far larger, turtle, who stands directly under him.”
“But what does this second turtle stand on?” James asked.
To this, the little old lady crowed triumphantly,
“It’s no use, Mr. James—it’s turtles all the way down.”[i]— J. R. Ross, Constraints on Variables in Syntax, 1967
Turtles? O.K. Whatever works for each of us. It could be that the theory of turtles is as good as any other, but back to last week’s discussion of God. There was a little girl who was afraid and sobbing in her bedroom and kept calling for her mother. Her mom said, “you needn’t be afraid dear. God is always with you.” The little girl, still sobbing, said, “I know, but I want a God with skin on.” In other words, we want something real that we can truly believe.
One of my favorite authors is the late, Rev. Eric Butterworth. In one of his essays, he wrote, “Civil engineers use a term that is perfectly applicable to man in his journeys through life: “The True Point of Beginning”. In surveying a piece of land, there is always a starting point which is clearly marked and identified. After establishing this point, the legal description may be described as follows: “North 19 degrees, 21 minutes, 11 seconds; thence East…; thence South…; thence West…to the true point of beginning.” For man, the True Point of Beginning (TPB) is the realization of the Truth of our oneness with God.” [ii]
So, it is with us, the true point of beginning must be our awareness of a Powerful Good of which we are part. Perhaps you could say that we are God with skin on, the face of God. We are humans who are awakening to their divine potential. There is no separation from Source unless we consider ourselves separate. Think about Spirit the way you think of electricity. We don’t need to understand all the science behind it. We can believe because we know it is there. Stuart Wilde said, “the same electricity, illumination shines forth on all.”[iii] The local food kitchen has as much illumination available as the Queen’s Tea Party.
It is always touching to see weary travelers at the airport find a corner and lay themselves down to rest. To me, this is a sweet vision of living in a world where we know we are being held by a divine force, protected and watched over. Similarly, as we read in the 23rd Psalm, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” How comforting to feel that we live in a world where the Divine watches over us, holds, protects, and comforts us.
Many of us have been living with spiritual amnesia. That is when we forget who we are and only see ourselves as who and what we are on the outside. We don’t know that we are one with Source and we are always connected. As a matter of fact, the Source/God lives through us. Butterworth continued to say that “our relationship to God is like that of the ocean to the wave. The wave has individuality, form, and shape, and yet there is a sense in which it is never more or less than the ocean expressing itself as a wave.”[iv]
When we realize that God/Source is always with us, that our true identify is Spirit, we begin to know of our true potential. We are Divine, Spiritual Beings. The One Power and One Presence that we sometimes is the living/loving/flowing essence of All That Is and we are part. I hope you will become aware of your true potential and walk this earth as God with Skin On. Be Blessed in All That You Do. JudyV
[i] J. R. Ross, Constraints on Variables in Syntax, 1967
[ii] https://www.truthunity.net/node/16001/printable/print?msclkid=4ef92e06cec611eca07ca11432710a88
[iii] Wilde, Stuart. The Three Keys to Self-Empowerment
[iv] https://www.truthunity.net/node/16001/printable/print?msclkid=4ef92e06cec611eca07ca11432710a88