Speaker 1: Look aloft. The old sailor's advice, the warning cry peace
and content, mental balance recovered, the glory of the universe,
all governed by law. The law manifests everywhere a reverent
feeling of calm, peaceful faith. Look aloft. I recently heard
a little tale about a boy who went to sea
in the old days of the sailing vessel. One day
he was ordered to go aloft, and was urged on
until he reached the highest possible point on the mosque.
When he found that he could go no farther, he
glanced down. The sight terrified him and almost caused him
to loose his grip and fall headlong on the deck
far below. He felt dizzy and sick, and it seemed
almost impossible for him to maintain his hold on the mast.
Far blow was the deck looking so small as compared
to the wide expanse of water on all sides of it.
The motion made him feel as if he was suspended
between heaven and Earth. Was nothing substantial to support him.
He felt his brain reeling and his senses leaving him,
and all seemed lost. When far away from the deck below,
he heard an old sailor cry, look aloft, Lad look aloft.
Turning his eyes from the scene below, the boy gazed upward.
He saw the blue sky, the fleecy clouds passing peacefully along,
looking just the same as they did when he had
looked at them while lying on his back on the
green grass of the meadows in his country home. A
strange feeling of peace and content came over him, and
the feeling of dread, terror and despair passed away. His
strength and presence of mind came back to him, and
soon he was able to slide down the mast until
he grasped a friendly rope, thence to the lower ringing,
and on until the deck was again reached. He never
forgot the old sailor's advice given in the hour of need,
and when he would feel dazed and fearful of danger,
he would invariably look aloft until he recovered his mental balance.
We may well take a leaf from the old Sailor's
note book and impress his wisdom upon our minds. There
is nothing so good in hours of trial, doubt, sorrow,
and pain as to look aloft when we feel that
we cannot see clearly with our spiritual vision, that our
spiritual sight is blurred and dim, that we lose faith
and confidence, hope and courage, that we feel the deadly
sensation of despair and hopelessness creeping over us and benumbing
our senses, stilling our heart. Then is the time for
us to listen to the warning shout look aloft, lad,
look aloft. When all seems lost, when darkness is closing
around us, when we seem to have lost our foothold
and have no way of regaining it, When all appears hopeless, gloomy,
and dreadful, when faith seems to have deserted us and
the hill of unbelief is on us, Then is the
time for us to shout to ourselves, look aloft, look aloft.
When we try to solve the riddle of the universe,
the problem of existence by the aid of the intellect,
unsupported by faith. When we ask our intellects, whence come I?
Whither go I? What is the object of my existence?
What does life mean? When we travel round and round
the weary paths of intellectual reasoning and find that it
has no ending. When we shout aloud the question of
life and hear no answer but the despairing echo of
our own sad cry. When life seems a mockery. When
life seems to be without reason, when life seems a
torment devised by a fiend, When we lose the feeling
of nearness to the infinite power that has supported us
in the past, when we lose the touch of the
unseen hand, these are the times for us to look
upward to the source of wisdom and light. These are
the times for us to heed the cry of the soul.
Look aloft, Look aloft, Look aloft. Some clear night, when
the moon is not shining, go out into the darkness
and gaze upward at the stars. You will see countless
bright spots, each of which is a sun, equalling or
exceeding in size the Sun, which gives light and life
to our little earth, each sun having its circling worlds,
many of the worlds having moons revolving around them. In turn,
look all over the heavens as far as the eye
can reach, and endeavor to grasp the idea of the
countless suns and worlds. Then try to imagine that in space,
far beyond the reach of human vision, even aided by
the telescope, are millions upon millions of other worlds and
suns on all sides of us, on and on and
on throughout the universe, reaching into infinity. And then remember
that all these worlds hold their places and revolve according
to law. And then remember that the microscope shows that
law manifests itself in the smallest thing that can be seen.
By its use, or around you, you will see nothing
but the manifestations of law. And then remembering that the infinite,
which has us all in charge, takes note of the
foe of the sparrow. What has become of your fears
and doubts and words? Gone is your despair and unbelief,
And in their place is found a reverent feeling of calm,
peaceful faith. I there is much good sense in the
old sailor's maxim When you get rattled, look aloft