Let’s strive to be individuals whose involvement lends positive momentum to whatever activities we attach ourselves to. We can be people whose presence in any group gives hope and positive energy to that group’s undertakings, whatever they may be.
It’s a fine thing to be open-minded. But our minds are like our mouths: we open them in order to close them on something solid. If after a lifetime of study, we still don’t know anything for certain, then we’ve probably taken the wrong approach.
We ought to be on the lookout for things that are praiseworthy, eagerly searching them out so we can affirm them. Disapproving of things only when there’s no honorable alternative, we ought to jump at the chance to approve everything we possibly can.
Perhaps you’ve heard someone of strong character described as having an indomitable spirit. Isn’t that what we want? We want to have minds and hearts that are so fixed on our principles and ideals that we can’t be beaten by any foe that bars our way.
For every person who can carry out quality work under someone else’s motivation, there are few who can motivate themselves. But this is the main ingredient of initiative. Initiative means we’re powered by a fire within our own hearts.
Giving oneself to a particular end, not just in affection but in dedication, is one of the most intensely joyful experiences open to us. But when was the last time you pledged yourself to pay close and loyal attention to some honorable “devotion”?
By far the best planting we ever do is not agricultural but personal. When we make new beginnings with other people, either by entering into new relationships or doing things that reinvigorate old ones, we are “planting” in the very highest sense.
Much more important than any physical or artistic training is the training of our minds and spirits. To be constructively useful, these helpers have to be trained. They have to be trained to serve the interests of our principles and our conscience.
We all face tests. Once in a while, the tests are quite large. And then, perhaps two or three times in our lives, we meet the biggest tests of all, the ones where our characters are assayed in the hottest fires they’ll ever experience.
Things like good manners shouldn’t become casualties of our busyness. The busier we are, the more we need to be mannerly. The “technique of expressing consideration for the feelings of others” is a skill that we should never be too busy to use.
