We can certainly make others feel more secure in their relationship with us, but even with regard to their more general surroundings, it’s often possible to help people see that they “belong” to those around them more than they have been thinking.
Do you and I willingly offer ourselves as ladders upon which others can climb? A certain amount of humility is needed to serve in that way. After all, a ladder never gets much credit for the success of any undertaking. But it is extremely important.
Good heritages aren’t forged accidentally or haphazardly. It takes more than simply going with the flow to get the kind of results we can feel good about handing down. Conscious choices have to be made, and deliberate discipline has to be exercised.
When we “contemplate” we think about something very quietly and carefully. We go to that “untroubled retreat” in our own soul and turn the thing over in our minds, looking thoughtfully at the various facets of the subject that we’re meditating on.
The resources at our disposal have been entrusted to us. Strictly speaking, they don’t belong to us; they’ve simply been put into our hands for a while. We’re being trusted to use these things as they were intended to be used: for the common good.
Certainly, we need to have the wisdom to refine our dreams and make sure that they’re aligned with true principles, but if our conscience tells us that our dreams are worthy of aspiring to, then we need to keep them burning brightly.
Being a loving person requires courage. Holding on to the trust that’s required to make love’s sacrifices is more than a little frightening. It’s not for the fainthearted! But for the bold, being loving is the very nectar of life itself.
The world around us is very old, but in another sense, it’s fresh every morning. It depends on which perspective we adopt: will we see what we’ve seen many times before, or will we see the fresh things that have not caught our attention till now?
Nothing adds more interest, adventure, and intrigue to our lives than welcoming all the people and experiences that come our way. When you arise each morning in a welcoming mood, you just never know what might happen.
One of the best things about journeys is that they teach us to appreciate our homes more fully. Thoreau went so far as to say, “Only that traveling is good which reveals to me the value of home and enables me to enjoy it better.”
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