1 result for (book:notp AND session:800 AND stemmed:life)
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Only when you operate from your own stance can you help others to the best of your ability. To anticipate danger, or to imaginatively take on the troubles of others robs you of the very energy with which you could help them. I am not saying, therefore, to turn your eyes from the unfortunate conditions of the world. Practical help is needed in all areas of the human life. Yet it is far better, and more practical ultimately, to concentrate upon the beneficial elements of civilization — far better to organize your thoughts in areas of accomplishment than to make mental lists of man’s deficiencies and lacks.
Such a practice leads to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, in which effective action seems impossible. Life possesses an exuberance. If this is cherished, nurtured, encouraged, then additional energy is generated that is not needed for the purposes of daily private life — a superabundance, that can be effectively directed in those areas of the world where help is most needed.
[... 2 paragraphs ...]
To close your eyes to them in an ignorant fashion, to wash your hands of them, so to speak, is equally shortsighted. To pretend such situations do not exist, out of fear of them, will only bring the feared reality closer. It is far better to situate yourself firmly in your own reality, acknowledge it as your own, encourage your strength and creativity, and from that vantage point view those areas of the world or of your own society that need constructive help. Purposefully in your own life, in your daily dialogues with others, in your relationships through your groups or clubs, reinforce as well as you can the strength and abilities of others.
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(10:10.) Personal grudges would not build up, so that men or women so fear further hurts that they attempt to hide from life or relationships, or shy away from contact with others. It is not virtuous to count your failings. Self-conscious righteousness can be a very narrow road. If each of you understood and perceived the graceful integrity of your own individuality, just as you try to perceive the beauty of all other natural creatures, then you would allow your own creativity greater reign. There is order in all elements of nature, and you are a part of it.
The greater sweep of the seasons represents the reaches of your soul. You will not attain spirituality by turning your eyes away from nature, or by trying to disentangle yourself from it. You will not “glimpse eternal life” by attempting to deny the life that you have now — for that life is your own unique path, and provides its own clues for you to follow.
[... 3 paragraphs ...]
(Long pause.) Nature is luxurious and abundant in its expressions. The greater reality from which nature springs is even more abundant, and within that multidimensional experience no individual is ignored, forgotten, dismissed, lost, or forsaken. A tree does not have to ask for nourishment from the ground or the sun, and so everything that you need is available to you in your practical experience. If you believe you are not worthy of nourishment, if you believe that life itself is dangerous, then your own beliefs make it impossible for you to fully utilize that available help. In large measure, since you are still alive, you are of course nourished. You cannot close out the vitality of your own being that easily, and the vitality “squandered” on deeper bouts of depression is often greater than the energy used in creative pursuits. You are a portion of All That Is; therefore the universe leans in your direction. It gives. It rings with vitality. Then forsake beliefs that tell you otherwise. Seek within yourself — each of you — those feelings of exuberance that you have, even if they are only occasional, and encourage those events or thoughts that bring them about.
[... 17 paragraphs ...]