Consecration is
ever active, bold and aggressive, fearing naught but possible
disloyalty to high ideals.
Concentration makes the individual life simpler and deeper. It cuts
away the shams and pretences of modern living and limits life to its
truest essentials. Worry, fear, useless regret,--all the great wastes
that sap mental, moral or physical energy must be sacrificed, or the
individual needlessly destroys half the possibilities of living. A
great purpose in life, something that unifies the strands and threads
of each day's thinking, something that takes the sting from the petty
trials, sorrows, sufferings and blunders of life, is a great aid to
Concentration. Soldiers in battle may forget their wounds, or even be
unconscious of them, in the inspiration of battling for what they
believe is right. Concentration dignifies an humble life; it makes a
great life,--sublime. In morals it is a short-cut to simplicity. It
leads to right for right's sake, without thought of policy or of
reward. It brings calm and rest to the individual,--a serenity that is
but the sunlight of happiness.
Conquest is the overcoming of an evil habit, the rising superior to
opposition and attack, the spiritual exaltation that comes from
resisting the invasion of the grovelling material side of life.
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