Without a choice to grow, our lives decline. If we don’t decide to be refreshed, we won’t be. So while the sap is rising in the world of nature, it’s good to make some thoughtful commitments of our own. This spring, in what ways shall we be “new”?
The main thing in life is not to prey upon people but to render them service. And if we want to help those around us in significant ways, we must offer them something money cannot buy: genuineness. That’s what opens the door to a beneficial life.
This world is full of tradeoffs and exchanges, and “purpose” presents us with the biggest of them. So my wish for you is this: I hope you will have a purpose for living that is so valuable that you will spend everything else in order to attain it.
More than one thing needs to be done, and if we want to help others, we’re going to need some versatility. Life is not about selfish indulgence; it’s about service, and the more varied our capabilities are, the more kinds of service we can render.
Without hierarchies and the authority that goes with them, life would soon collapse into chaos. We need to see the goodness of legitimate authority — and we need to see that there’s nothing dishonorable about adopting obedience as a basic attitude.
Live it up! You will need to be governed by morality and justice, but within those limits, you shouldn’t hesitate to “walk in the ways of your heart” (Ecclesiastes). So grasp the cup of life with both hands, turn it up, and drain it to the dregs.
It is love that moves us to seek the welfare of those around us. And true love doesn’t work just for the benefit of friends and favored relationships — it labors for the benefit of all. Whoever you may be, I can’t love you and not desire your highest good.
Wouldn’t it be beneficial if we saw others as partners as much as possible and as competitors as little as possible? We need the help of others. We need partnerships in life. And we need to be people with whom others are delighted to partner.
“He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.” To ask a question is to put ourselves under this judgment: what will we do about the answer when it is given to us? It is easy to ask a question, but the answer often entails a serious responsibility.
We live in a culture that’s awash in unhealthfulness. At every point from physical to mental to spiritual healthfulness, we are surrounded by unhealthful influences. To maintain our wholeness, we must resist the junk — especially the mental junk.
