The Builder Within

Hurt Feelings

 

We should not expect others to conform to our way of thinking and doing ...

 

We can be hurt, if we so desire, at every turn of the road and I mean by being hurt, not physical but mental hurt. We must guard ourselves zealously against this very thing for no matter what happens we must know that there is a reason for it -- nothing happens by chance.  

Perhaps it is true we are not thought of as we could wish, but we may as well face the fact, it is seldom that we are, so it behooves us to put a wall of steel or iron around our precious feelings so that they are not crushed by someone else who does not think as we do. 

Not everyone is a sentimentalist and one day is as good as another to such a person. However, to the one who never forgets another or who is always looking for a reason for the things that occur, it is a crushing blow when someone, especially one who is held dear, forgets or overlooks something important to the one whose feelings in these matters are keenly alive. 

If all persons on this plane of life thought exactly alike, it would be a most uninteresting and dull existence for there would be no variety or spice to life. We should not expect others to conform to our way of thinking and doing, but cover our feelings and go on knowing that, according to their light, they are doing the best they can under the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Our Bodily Needs

 

We do not need large amounts of food and drink to keep us in good shape, but ... should have quality of food and not quantity. 

 

In becoming careless of our bodies by eating things that can cause only fatty tissue to develop and not in any way adding real nutriment to our diet, we are piling up future trouble. 

Often we are tempted to overeat these things because we have allowed our taste buds to expect them and be gratified by them. Is this what we eat for? No, the aim of eating food is fuel for our bodies, to help build them and to keep them in good condition; to repair, if necessary, tissues that need that treatment. Then what becomes of all the excess food we take into our bodies simply because it tastes good? It cannot work for us! No, but it does accumulate and really works against us by pushing the system of bodily elimination almost beyond its ability.  

The body is a wonderful accumulation of atoms constantly in action and each action brings about a similar reaction. If we continue to push into the body chemistry more of the so-called foods, such as chocolate, butter and vegetable fats, meats, starches and other things, not all of which we need or can readily utilize, we are soon in trouble.  

The reaction is felt in some form in our bodies. It can be in rheumatism, arthritis, constipation, indigestion or a combination of these ailments. If we are at all wise, when we feel we are getting to this state we will eliminate all unnecessary and rich items from our daily food intake and get back into a true state of health. We do not need large amounts of food and drink to keep us in good shape, but we do need and should have quality of food and not quantity.  

Each one has his or her needs and to overdo in this direction only leads to ill health.

Controlling Thought

We are what we think, and we must constantly stand guard that our thoughts are always  what we wish our lives to become.

 

Outwardly we may show the world a very different face from that which we really have. In time, however, the inward state takes over and shows itself in its true colors. Not for long can one conceal the thought life that he or she habitually holds and lives with. 

It is not a pretty picture when one loses his temper and, in so doing, loses his stature with those he would most like to impress. It is a form of childishness, of weakness of will, and a showing of dissatisfaction with his world and his inability to cope with it and with the situations that come up in the life.   

Our reactions to these displays are to be disgusted and to avoid the person who so conducts himself. That, in itself, is a form of punishment that the one afflicted must be willing to bear, though, strangely enough, it is quite the opposite of the desire which first motivated the action. 

Could we but see the dark, disagreeable colors that come into the aura of the person who shows plainly the grave errors of his thought life in such fashion, we would shun this display and this controlling thought as we shun poison for, in truth, that is what it really is. 

We are what we think, and we must constantly stand guard that our thoughts are always what we wish our lives to become.

Feeling Follows Action

 The little discourse this morning will be on feeling follows action.

 

The little discourse this morning will be on feeling follows action. That statement may appear to be all wrong to you at the outset, but stop aminute and think. Do you feel water before you plunge into it? Do you feel fire before you touch it? No. Then it is apparent that all feeling follows action rather than precedes it. Perhaps this is a new thought to you and you have always thought otherwise, but reflection will show this to be a truth.  

All must and should carefully think things out before acting and use his or her best judgment. If you wish to be more courageous, or to be gifted in some attribute which perhaps you may feel you lack, think of yourself as being possessed with this virtue, then act accordingly. You will find that actually the feeling that you are endowing yourself with is right and true and is simply awaiting unfoldment, as all can and must come from within. 

We can never acquire that which is not already inherent in us, but we can unfold that which we possess but perhaps are not aware is ours. Many times we underestimate the self within.   

So, I go back to feeling follows action. Act courageous and the feeling will follow. I am simply using courage as an illustration of my point, but any feeling that you desire to be yours would be the same. Try this and see the result.

Strengthen our Feelings

Carefully think, carefully act, and true and right feeling always follows.

 

Feeling follows action just as surely as night follows the day.

We choose consciously a thought and immediately our feeling, either positive or negative depending upon the thought, comes into play. We allow ourselves to fall into habits of thought that are not always beneficial to us, and we can banish them only by a strong force of will.   

What is will but strong desire powered by right action and then followed by a different feeling or emotion because we have set up a different pattern of thought?  

We must try to see clearly our part in helping to straighten out things we do not find agreeable to us. Act on the self within to so change the thought pattern that we can transcend that which formerly bothered us and act accordingly, and the right feeling will follow. 

Often we weakly allow ourselves to put into our bodies food that we should shun. We act and, in so doing, the law of cause and effect comes into play and after awhile we do not feel as we should because our action was not, through thought, what we truly knew to be right.

Carefully think, carefully act, and true and right feeling always follows.

Friends

Tried and true friends are truly rare and when we do find them, we should cherish them and feel we are rich indeed.

 

There are friends and so-called friends for some are that in name only. They see only a way to be entertained or to further their way in life, or, in some cases, just add you to their list that they may have more prestige or [feel] some of the glitter may rub off on them. 

Tried and true friends are truly rare and when we do find them, we should cherish them and feel we are rich indeed. Some have been with us perhaps many years, but have they been really true friends who do stick through thick and thin and not just through habit of long association? Sometimes it seems difficult to tell, but always there comes a test and you will find the true friend is there in time of need. 

There is a saying that to have friends we must also be one, and this is true, of course, but there are exceptions to every rule. Sometimes we find a true friend in one we least suspect and one with whom we have not always been friendly.  

It is useless to try to hold on to those who have no real value as friends, whose companionship, though nice, is perhaps, beneath it all, insincere.  

There are some who demand much of their friends, but give little in return. Shun these as you do the plague and cultivate those who, like yourself, are willing to be friends in the true sense of the word, not just because they have something to gain.