Readings That Will Revitalize Your Thinking
Authority (August 24)
When it comes our time to lead others in one of life’s relationships — and authority is given to us to get the job done — let us be aware that we’re being tested. The responsibility will call for the highest and best within us. Let’s pass the test!
Courtesy (August 23)
Too often, we make the effort to be courteous to everybody else but treat those nearest and dearest to us with rudeness and irritability. But if anybody in the world deserves to get our very best behavior, isn’t it those we come home to after work?
Compassion (August 22)
We must translate our feelings of compassion into actions of mercy. Most of us are moved by compassionate feelings. We do love our neighbors, to some extent. But feelings must be urged into action. Compassion must actually bathe the fevered brow.
Invitations (August 21)
When invitations are innocent, we should be open to their call. We waste life by neglecting its invitations. So I need to ask myself, “How easily invited am I? When life is entreating me to follow a better path, am I receptive or resistant?”
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WORDS ARE VERY special things. I love them, I respect them, and I believe that getting “thinky” about the words we use is a very healthy exercise. So I’ve written a book that gives you a single positive word to think about every twenty-four hours: a good word every day. Like my other books, this one is a daybook. There is a short, one-page reading for each day of the year, and what I’d like you to do is read the book at the rate of one page per day. Sure, you can browse ahead or go back and review. That’s fine. Just promise me you’ll really meditate on no more than one page each day. If you’ll try this habit, you might like it. — GPH
THESE TWO BOOKS — Enthusiastic Ideas and More Enthusiastic Ideas — would be placed in the “positive thinking” section of the library, I suppose. I don’t mind that, although I fear that being put in that category means the books will not be taken seriously by some people. Unfortunately, books about “positive mental attitude” have a reputation for being fluffy: nothing more than cotton candy for the mind. Whatever the reasons for that reputation might be, I don’t believe the situation has to be the way it is. A writer should be allowed to address the issue of positive thinking at a deeper level.
If we happen to be living in a less than wonderful way, the last thing we need is for someone to try to help us by pouring “positive mental attitude” syrup over the facts. The positive thinking we need won’t come from dreaming or ignoring reality; it will come from the (sometimes painful) alignment of ourselves with principles of proven validity in human character and conduct. So as a speaker and writer, I get in people’s faces and challenge them to change in significant ways. There’s nothing fluffy about it, believe me. — GPH
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Never use the expression “mere words.” Words are never “mere.” They are strong and beautiful. Use them carefully, for language is both a powerful gift and a serious stewardship.