The things we need to know, or could profit from knowing, don’t usually track us down and impose themselves on our thinking; we have to get up and go look for them. Curiosity requires a bit of energy. It’s not for the lazy or the indifferent.
We should want others to succeed at their highest level, even if their achievements eclipse our own. And while working wisely to help them overcome their weaknesses, we ought to exert a greater effort to bring out other people’s strengths.
“Conversion” is not necessarily a religious word. It just means changing direction. “Conversion simply means turning around” (Vincent McNabb). And isn’t it a wonderful thing that we are convertible? Aren’t we glad we can turn when we need to?
Our character is tested every time we’re faced with an opportunity to be tender. If we can be tender toward those who are tender, that’s good — but almost anyone can do that. The real challenge is to be tender toward those who are not tender.
We can imagine good things that have never been in the world before, and then work to bring those new ideas to fruition. When we do that — that is, when we make the unique contribution to the world we’re capable of making — we’re being original.
We owe it to others to be more enduring. Many of the stresses in our personal relationships come from giving up too soon in the face of difficulty. So if not for our own sake, then for the sake of others, we should learn to hold up and hold out.
We can’t think one way and then somehow arrive at a completely different destination. So you need to be careful about your thinking, don’t you? If you keep on thinking as you have today, what kind of destiny is that going to lead you to?
We miss the best part of life when we fail to acquire a taste for that which is enduringly beautiful and everlastingly joyful. Learning to approve the things that are excellent, we find that life has a depth and a richness we never knew before.
Immediacy means enjoying each moment, doing each moment’s duty as it confronts us, and gaining the influence that comes from living immediately. It’s worth the effort to deal promptly and thankfully with what is immediate, even when it’s difficult.
“Nurture” comes from the same root as the words “nutrition” and “nourish.” None of us is so independent that we can do without nurturing and sustenance from anyone else. People need to be nurtured — and they need to nurture one another.
