r-zº t Sl- * #º * & 3% #. º 2 * **- &º º £º * % * º º % % } * 3% C % ºft * ^. * * 2--> % . §§ %. ºf %lºft.* * * …& §% 4.& gº” à \ § zł * * *& %ggº" *. Gourage is the life word. By this truth the race lives. What is this glory that men seek in War, and that everyone, no matter how he hates it, feels there? Is it the kill- ing of men or in the mere defeat of the foe? Nay, the truly glori- ous thing in war is the soldier's victory over his own craven fears and his own trembling nerves. The private who rushes joyous- ly to the charge in the face of volleyed death, or who does his duty calmly and efficiently under fire, the officer who, ile disastrous changes This is why to be a hero is the most glorious conscious- an Can have . The one thing worthwhile for all of us to seek is the victory in the battle of life--the courage and hope which gives us true serenity in the face of any falling and any fate, any loss, any peril, any defeat. And this is not hard to those who, with a deep faith, feel that they know that life is immortal and cannot be destroyed. Yea, everywhere in life, wherever we behold a man (or an animal even) who faces peril with a calm daring and glad or serene front, as if he could not be harmed——our pulses beat faster and our spirits thrill with admiration, and, whatever our theories, we feel, visible before us, the supreme virtue and victory. Yes, even the murderer who dies bravely on the gibbet We must admire. By no other act can he seem more thoroly to claim Olliſ' forgiveness. Is not all this proof that what all heroes instinctive- ly assume is truth——that life is immortal and cannot be harmed? Why then should we not assume, nay, utterly believe, at all times, that this is true? If not true, to believe it will give more peace and courage and solace in this one life than any thing else you can believe, either true or false. And if true, it is a faith times, in every life, now all ywhere, profitable ever and forever. And is not this very fact of its supreme usefulness, value and beauty convincing evidence of its fundamental verity? To you I argue, but to myself I do not argue, for I believe it. To me this is the supreme wisdom: - That in all the universe thero is but one Life--that the One Life is the Universe--a life that takes form after form; shap- ing, accruing, changing, dissolving, reassembling, reuniting forms; to infinity the same Life still; itself utterly immortal, indestructible, without beginning or end-–and a form and portion of Which we 3. TG = - That there are no real individuals, as we hold them, in all the universe——except and only the One Individual, the One Life, the Universe itself, filling all space, including all things, and we but members of its body, fingers on its hand, thoughts in its brain, as it were. The true wisdom then is to remember at all times, that forms are but forms, as changeful as smoke or mist, every person, every possession, every object, even every thought, every emotion, such a form, changing, changing forever to the endless end, but the Great Life forming and filling all, of which Great Life you Perceive. And your perception H. i trg, Law º And your ting it never. To live in the face of death as tho you could not be killed; to live in poverty as if you could not be poor; to live in you could not be ashamed-–this is Greatness indeed. And to live in old age as if it were the beginning of youth. And to let love go serenely, defying fate to take from you the best part of loving—-your own unselfish Gift of Love . If every moment of the life you have, you have lived bravely, nobly, serenely, losing no moment of joy from the fear of death (for die you must), playing never the coward, the pes— simist, the nerveless one--then life has been all gain to you and you are Great indeed. And if you have loved your Dear One sweetly, loyally, beautiful. y of it, tenderly, joyously, with a great love in the da but can say good bye without bitterness and without agony when the time comes to sepa rate, to die, or to love another—-bravely, calm- ly, serenely accepting and releasing——then you are a Victor indeed and love has been all gain to you and to both. if to you to love means to suffer, and each heaven of bliss means an equal descent into hell; if loss means as great as possession has meant joy; if the Dear One's freedom of loyment of life, and God—considerate in your generous of love, more divinely tender # d remain with loving, for love will always come to you an you in SWG et, proportior needs of lovers. depend upon your loving; as as you love, love is reflected back to you, As you can never see your own face except so the only glimpse you get § 3%.º.º. #3 & 8 ## ź # £3% * , §% ğ. & % *...* : * & When you see it reflected back from some work done, or see it in happy. the universe, and at last Answer equals For Balance rules Gift . You have been told to crush out Desire: Crush out noth- ing, but accept, love and use all, standing ever above. And you have been told to despise the flesh: Reverence it rather. Despise nothing. have been told not to enjoy the senses: Enjoy every- Let your attachment be detachment and your love a letting go. For to Love and Let Go, to Appropriate and Release, both at the rk of the Wise same time, and all the time, is the Victory, the ma Man, the Serene and Great Soul. The teachers of old told you love, sex, the flesh, were the great Enemy and woman the Tempter, to eschew money, retire from life, and fast and pray. Let, us say that these men were wise for their world and time, but that there is a deeper, truer wisdom for us today If a man cannot back his &ć & Ž 3. & : %:::: & & & $ % * . . . & § º 2. º º: % > x & - º #3: % & # •º 3.3 § #. § g ** … % 4 + & 8 … & & . 3% *… º .. º § : >º. 3. 3. §' :r. & * …, * & % . . " .# , # . § :- § ...: ź . 3. * 2 * , ſº . ź 3. º % & * . . . . g . .” & # º, r % :::::3% 6. 3.3% & 3. 4; , , , >. 3% & 3. * * * * * * : 3. % "º +& 2. :º %3 × #: « - - - - & & § %3 :- . § ić 3 & £3. 3. . .” & & × r? º R& & % not if he there with sits in judgment on riders and saddles. The Wise man builds his fire on his hearth and enjoys its light and warmth; but he does not go without it because a madman *ade his in the middle of the floor. Passion is a force to be tamed, a servant to be ordered, a tool to be used. It is the weak man's terror, but the strong man's power. - Be sure of this——any doctrine founded upon a condemnation and rejection of any part of life is self-condemned; the true wis— dom accepts, as scrts and uses all. but anything The Great life made all and a place for may be reversed to evil, defiled, perverted. It is true that the ſlesh will peri is true that sex may be defiled, but so may temple; altar or shrine; it is true that woman may be a Tempter, but so may any other beauty or virtue, and in her true place Woman is a Savior. º The clean flesh of the pure is sweet as morning; the sex of the pure is a fragrant flower; woman is the purest part of man and the Wise love of her an act of prayer. The wise man, the true saint, is not the ascetic who flees life, but the stalwart one who works for the useful and fights for the right; who keeps his soul above the flesh, making it his beautiful home; above sex, self-controllea, esthetic, holding it sacred; above love, making it the servant of soul. The man who flees the battle and toil of life, the her— fasting and praying alms of the industrious, a monk, fa. are we to say of him? Can we name battle to some safe mountain , where he can look on, the hero? Is who would flatter the General greater tha in the one who obeys orders? Nay, the man who will not do Life's work or fight Life's fight is a shirk and not a saint; he is a moral coward, not a moral Conqueror. (But let us be reasonable, let us be large--a meditation valuable tool and service; a hermitage may be a Work- may be building a great work--service is the test keeps all things under the Works and proportion and use; who fights the fights and does loves the loves of life as he sees right, in fearless faith and calm, above everything but the Great Life and the courage, serenity and idealization of his own steadfast spirit. Fast 7 Yes, for your body's or your brain's sake, if they have need, but not for the soul's sake. For the soul is concerned With the food of the gods, not with earth—foods. Pray? Yes, but the divine law of prayer is that you answer your own prayers. Prayer is desire, and if God gives you your desires outright, in answer to no effort, you have your desire and nothing more, which, so may be an injury even. But if obtained º you work out the answer to your own prayer, God will work in and through you to the making, and every part he works in will be in- spired, trained, energized, and you will be developed and benefit— ed for life even if you do not get the fruit of your desire. God indeed works in you at all times, but it makes a great difference to you. Whether you invite him, are conscious of him, cooperate with him, or ignore or oppose. - The World." The World is but the race of your fellow men Struggling thru their own battle of life. Neither ignore nor de- Spise the World, but have gympathy. The surgeon does not display ake the world's diseases, but to cure them. And the calm, glad, wise life is the best medicine. cour- age, cheerfulness, sweetness, Attachment with Detachment, always. & The flesh? They tell you it is material and vile and that its active wickedness drags down the soul; but when they are argu- ing another side they will aver that matter is inert and spirit alone controls. These contentions contradict. In fact the flesh is innocent, to be a mere mechanical impediment is the worst it can do; it is only an agent, a tool, but all active vice and virtue are from the unseen force Within which is principal and master and alone responsible. Keep your soul pure and above and your flesh will have to be pure . The Devil? The devil is only the complex of the obsta- cles, hindrances and disappointments of life, the sorrows, perils, fears, by the overcoming of which you rise, strengthen and grow. The Love of God? Aye! The Great Life is God. Open your being to the Great life, invite it in, receive it, and then give it out , out to those who need. You are nothing, the Great Life is All, and you the glad tool of its working, and glad channel of its giving--the fountain of its refreshing, the table of its feeding, the wire of its electricity, the flame-end by which it lights and heats. Love God, take God, live God, be God, give, give, give God, and With God's arms embrace and love all ! This is Religion, and this is the Prayer which is 6ommunion. So commune with God and take him into your transactions that you be honest, helpful, blameless in business; into your work- ing that your work be Art; endur to your loving ing and beautiful; in that your yearnings be pure, your souls and bodies may blend in tenderness like a prayer, and your children be immaculately con- ceived. . And this is the secret of peace in loving—-that it be un- selfish, that its one concern be blessing and giving. To give to the loved one is pure joy. But when you begin to consider yourself in loving--what you are getting or not getting or in danger of los- ing--then you are in pain or in near peril of pain. For life is commerce, all thin gs are held together by a network of need and exchange. For anyone to love only self is to break the net. That is why lo rve is so beautiful to us, because it is the perfect exchange. But to be perfect it must be all gift and service on both sides. If two who would love, love only Page Ten fall instantly apart and perhaps revert to hate, but when each is concerned only to give perfect joy to the other, each receives all that is possible of joy from the other, and love is at its highest, ºn during, unbreakable, peace—giving, divine. &nd this is the secret of peace in living, that you love the moment and let it go. But tho all things pass, there are some things larger and more lasting than others. Love you wisely the larger things more than the smaller things, the species more than the individual. Love Love more than any lover; Womanhood more than any woman; Man- hood more than any man; Friendship more than any friend; Work more than the product; Home more than the dwelling; Art more than the ſ: tº nºn- •e m ore º th a n the sce: ne ; - your W. 1O l e º li f e -- mo r e -- than i t; G p resent incarnation and the great Life Then the losses and changes of little things will less affect you. The symbol of life, O Student, is a flowing river. You st; and on the bank and admire the Whirling waters. Bubble after bubble you see——each one dancing or struggling in the current, spherical, revolving, reflecting the beauties of heaven and earth, When suddenly it breaks and is gone. Such a bubble are you, such bubbles are your loved ones and your enemies, all lives and all things. They pass, they pass, and soon they break and disappear in flood from which they came. And the symbol of life is a moving picture play. The reel rolls on and picture after picture passes, beautiful but ever- changing. Do not say they are not real. They are real, but they are Faze Eleven also unreal for they are not what they seem. Even so your life is a reel of moving pictures, real and yet unreal, beautiful or ter— rible, but ever-changing, passing. Life changes and you are Wise when you learn to accept Changefulness, not only to enjoy it but to love it, when you are fitted to life as it is. Then you are Serene. You are a bubble on the stream. Dance and fight, but you will break. Never mind, you will reform again, and whatever you are, wherever you are, under or over, you are always a part of the great , invincible Stream. Love de Gply the Stream, love lightly the bubbles. Love largely the larger things and less the lesser things. So shall you # W hen a child, life looked infinite to and you stood its verge eager with hope and courage. That was the Wise out- * . look. Even so, when you come to die, look forward with hope and courage. For life is infinite and all your dreams and longings are possible of realization in its future. & To have a soldier's courage; to have a prudent man's Carefulness; to have a saint 's seronity; to have a lover's tender- 3; to have a good man's usefulness; to be at-one with the Great t %, S 3 ; , ; ** I & Life in a great love; to float happily on the flowing river of life's changes, letting every bubble break around one, including one's own bubble and bubbles, enjoying ever the beauty as it comes and goes, appreciating the coming, regretting not the going, this S. do Iſl O f L if G - is the Attitude and the Victory——this is the true Wi 'ºffſ. £8% ș*** * š =&ș~~~ și * Š&& （ ）* * . * <% ·* * *%. ș **** ș š*çºğ* § *& &* §§ * g ș ș& ·~$，ș * * šs §. * š ș . $§ . * ， <% <<$ 𠧧& $ș § & ș** ģ Ķºšķ g *$* ż z• „ș §§ **- ý: * § * * && g & ** . ş× ş ș • ！、 $&„ ; ș. × $ ° • ׫ . » # ż sș* & * *** ģ * ģ %; ×&#„ și.x*& șķ**-ș ș. * 3:SX- *--> ģ ··· ș §: *** **<$$-- >§ș ș:$ ·* $ ș&&º :ğº:$→ · § * ș* ș:& * >·*<<<< *× ·*ș，x. * ș ק*→ S↓ $:$-*šį ~ך ș ×::::<> š$3 *ş×· $:S--> <~§: *--ș& <>>-- ~~ș:· * & :*ș× |×* -ģ&& ș× ·*$*× Loves and battles and gains and losses and honors and mistakes-—these things are not important, nor lives nor deaths nor causes of death, except as tools. The growth of our own souls and the ongo of the Universe to a more beautiful perfection, these along are important, and all things work for this end which shall not fail. So be at case——your hours pass and your days pass, your joys and pangs pass, and disease, old age and death come flying and you pass; and you come again and return again and life after life passes--but the Great Things, Wisdom, Beauty, Love, Greatness, Peace, these do not pass and you endure forever to attain them more and more and blend in greater consciousness and cooperation into the ever—becoming—more—perfect Perfection. Immortal. J. William Lloyd April, 1916 URE of COURAGE AND LARGENESS Copyright 1927 by J. WILLIAM LLOYD