"Life is a series of surprises. We do not guess to-day the work, the pleasure, the power of to-morrow, when we are building up our being."Emerson."Chase back the shadows, grey and old,Of the dead ages, from his way,And let his hopeful eyes beholdThe dawn of Thy millenial day."Whittier
"Life is a series of surprises. We do not guess to-day the work, the pleasure, the power of to-morrow, when we are building up our being."Emerson.
Fortunately, no two persons are exactly alike. If they were, the result would be the same and the everyday acts leading to a result would be the same. Nature, acquiescing in the Divine plan, has a different line of action and result for every individual which she creates. We find unlimited variety in man. The seat of activity is the mind and the first portion of the body to be acted upon by the mind is the brain. One man possesses more convolutions of brain than does another, and the fibre which extends from the gray matter to manipulate the many organs of the body which we constantly use is finer in one organism than in another. We recognize differences in classes of people and call one class nervous, and another, phlegmatic. So strongly are we influenced by public opinion that we honestly believe that a "slow" man cannot reach so great result in a lifetime as can a "quick" man. General opinion is usually wrong and it most certainlyis in this case. Nature has a work for each kind and each individual to do, the summing up of which, is the result of that life, and if the gifts of each individual have been properly used the result is success in life. It may be believed that the usefulness of each individual, if the life of each is perfectly carried out, will be equal to that of all others. Theapparentsuccess may not berealsuccess.
The active brain directs a responsive body. The more active the brain, the more active can the body be made. To make the body useful at all, the motion of its members must be well understood and perfectly commanded. Herein lies the secret of success or failure. All want—not wish—success. (A wish may be a whim.) The saying "One thing at a time, etc.," has become obnoxious to us years ago, but in the idea contained in that lies the path to greatest activity. The active mind spreads itself. It schemes. All the plans which it suggests seem possible. Why not carry them all out? Merely because life is not long enough, nor mental and physical endurance strong enough, to do even the preliminary work of one tenth of the schemes which can come to an active mind in one day. Cut them all off. It might be well to say "First come, first served," and take the first which comes and carry that to success, concentrating all thought and force upon its accomplishment.It may be a Higher Power which put the thought of that planfirstinto mind.
Yet more narrowly would we draw the line which surrounds our activity. One must make the most of his force and strength. In the case of every man, woman and child living there is enormous waste of power. Much more is wasted than is used. We have in years past stood beside Niagara and thought if that power, apparently going to waste, could be used for moving machinery it could run the mills of the world, forgetting, or not knowing, that, in getting to the Falls, we wasted enough mental and physical force to run our human machinery for a week. The thought flew, changing probably twice a second, to how many different things in the hour before. Computation is easy. In the sixteen working hours of a day, perhaps, we think of 2000 things. Isn't that wasteful? Before the true plan of nature is carried out some (if not three-quarters) of this waste must be prevented. What has the body done in the hour before reaching Niagara? The hands have wandered aimlessly, the feet have tapped the floor, the watch has been looked at a dozen times, the hat taken off and put on again, the card-case opened, half-looked at, and shut, and each act, with twenty more, has been repeated again and again. It was waste activity. It must be overcome. Nature never intended you and me to be wasteful.These actions of mind, brain and body, are useful in their places, but we misuse them, using up strength and power. Night comes and we are tired out, or think we are, which amounts to the same thing. Who said "One thing at a time" was obnoxious to him? To gain our greatest power we must bring ourselves down to "one thing at a time." Put your mind on that one thing. Are you sharpening a pencil just now? Don't read a book at the same time. Are you placing your hat on your head? Don't brush dust off the coat. Are these things trivial? Nothing is trivial in nature's plan. Do not, in impatience, without trial, cast aside these suggestions. Even give one hour each day for one week as a trial to doing what you do, perfectly, and think of it as a trial. The increased result in mental and physical activity will demonstrate the wisdom of the advice.
Strength is essential to successful labor. Wildly beating the air in undirected effort is the element of greatest weakness. We smile at the antics of two chickens in their fight in the farmyard. In a few minutes they wear themselves out and go off to rest. Are not we much like them? Do we not use up our strength in useless effort? Then, how often we rush off to the gymnasium or to the drug-store in the vain hope of regaining our strength. New strength is not to be found in either place. It is within ourselvesall the time. Stop the expenditure and permit re-cuperation through concentration. Don't go lie down. Don't take a nap. Stop right where you are and bring the thought down to one thing,strength. For the moment allow the body to remain still. Think strength, desire strength, command strength! It is yours. It belongs to you. It is all around you. It will take possession of you if you permit it. What say you? That it will not come at your bidding? Are you sure? Have you cleared the mind of the cobwebs—the two different things per second which can come into it? Have you? Until you have, don't give up the test. Concentrate the thought upon strength, if that is what you want, and it will come.
Impatience is waste. You cannot afford it. It is too expensive. We are all children. We see a toy and we must have it instantly, even if it is, as it often is, a sharp tool, which cuts our hands. If that which we wish belongs to us, or is to be given to us, it will come in its time. We wish to do somethingnow. We haven't the means, or we don't see our way clearly to do it. We bemoan our hard luck, and can't see why we can't have it. Just so does the child about the toy. Wait patiently, and if, in nature's plan, the thing is to come to us, it will come, and we can't prevent it. It will seem as if it came itself. Impatience merely wears us out and usesup strength which nature wishes us to use in some other way. Obey nature and carry out her purposes.
Activity which is useful, comes through directed effort. There may beseemingactivity which is worse than sluggishness, and which is certainly not desirable. Directed effort comes best through calm mind and responsive body. Silence and quietness, self-imposed, prepare the way to directed effort. Cease everything, even thinking, so far as it can be stopped, and remain passive thirty seconds. Then another thirty seconds. Who cannot take one minute out of each hour in the day for preparing the mind and body for greater strength and activity? When night has come and we lay the body down to rest there are a few minutes when it can have the best preparation for the activity of the next day. The few minutes before sleep carries us into unconsciousness are dear and sweet minutes, if rightly used. Then can the thought, which has been sent to thousands of things during the day, be brought back to its proper place. It should be centred upon one thing. The estimate is that the mind cannot be kept on one thing more than six seconds; but it can be returned to that one thing for several periods of six seconds each. We do not have the chance to return it many times, for sleep seizes us. Let the thought selected be a pleasant one; of somehappy spot or view; a sunset or refreshing shower. It is better to select something from nature rather than man, for such thought is likely to be unalloyed. The last thing at night, if pleasant, tends to give us the calmest rest and best prepares us for the next day. The well and strong body can be active and the temperament of the individual makes comparatively little difference. In this we may all take courage. Every thoughtful person has had an occasional sad thought over his apparent impotence. No one need use less than his normal strength and activity.
Corrections made by etext transcriber:
There has, however, ways of procedure been planned which must shorten the trip.=>There have been planned, however, ways of procedure which must shorten the trip.
Fortunately, no two persons are exactly alike. If there were=>Fortunately, no two persons are exactly alike. If they were