|
Today's
quotation:
Nature imitates herself.
A grain thrown into good ground brings forth
fruit; a principle thrown into a good mind brings forth fruit.
Everything
is created and conducted by the same master: the root, the
branch,
the fruits-- the principles, the consequences.
Blaise Pascal
|
|
Today's
Meditation:
It's really
quite wonderful to consider how the planting of a seed
leads to a tree, and once that tree has matured, it leads
to more fruit just like the one that we got the seed
from. And we see the same principle at work in
people: if you plant an idea in my mind, I can work
with that idea and make it my own, but soon you'll see
that the idea has helped to transform me into a different
person. Of course, what we end up with depends upon
what kind of idea is planted-- plant a positive, helpful
idea, and I grow to be a positive and helpful
person. Plant a negative, evil idea, and guess what
may happen?
I
would like to think that I have some control over the
process, and that's why I make such a strong effort to
fill my mind with positive ideas rather than negative
ones. I want the fruits that result to be beautiful
and helpful, rather than dreadful and harmful. I do
my best to identify the negative thoughts and ideas as
soon as I can so that I can reject them and not consider
them further, except as something that I can work against
using positive principles.
We
live by the principles we adopt as our own. The
fruits of our labor are the results of the seeds that
we've planted. If my guiding principles are greed
and avarice, then the fruits will be harmful, and I want
to avoid that. I want to live with the principles
that will create more good for the world-- principles such
as love, compassion, patience, commitment, kindness, and
the like. When an idea includes principles such as
hatred or intolerance or prejudice, I don't want to allow
it to take seed in my mind.
The
lives we lead depend, to a great extent, on the principles
that we allow to guide us in life. It's up to us to
adopt those principles-- they don't just happen.
Whenever you're in a situation that demands an important
decision, keep in mind the principles that you want to be
the guides in your life, and then the right decision will
become much more clear. Perhaps not any easier, but
definitely clearer.
|
