“The value of the things is not in themselves autonomously, but that God made them, and thus they deserve to be treated with high respect. The tree in the field is to be treated with respect. It is not to be romanticized as the old lady romanticizes her cat (that is, she reads human reactions into it). This is wrong because it is not true. When you drive the axe into the tree when you need firewood, you are not cutting down a person; you are cutting down a tree. But while we should not romanticize the tree, we must realize God made it and it deserves respect because He made is as a tree.” NeedsShouldHumansPersonsMadeValuesRealizingCuttingTreeFieldsDeserveCatReactionsForestsTreatedMade ItOld LadyFirewoodCutting Down Author:Francis Schaeffer
“Let’s suppose that rain washes out a picnic. Who is feeling negative? The rain? Or you? What’s causing the negative feeling? The rain or your reaction? When you bump your knee against a table, the table’s fine. It’s busy being what it was made to be – a table. The pain is in your knee, not in the table. The mystics keep trying to tell us that reality is all right. Reality is not problematic. Problems exist only in the human mind. We might add: in the stupid, sleeping human mind.” TryingMindHumansMadeFeelingsProblemRealityMightPainSleepStupidFineRainNegativeTablesAddBusyReactionsKneesHuman MindKeep TryingBumpsPicnicsNegative Feelings Book:Awareness: Conversations with the Masters Source: Awareness: Conversations with the Masters