Speaker 1: Standing alone by all means used to be alone. Salute thyself.
See what thy soul doth wear. George Herbert. He that
has light within his own clear breast may sit in
the center and enjoy bright day Milton. In the life
of blessedness, self reliance is of the utmost importance. If
there is no peace, there must be strength. If there
is to be security, there must be stability. If there
is to be lasting joy, there must be no leaning
upon things which at any moment may be snatched away forever.
A man does not commence to truly live until he
finds an immovable center within himself on which to stand,
by which to regulate his life, and from which to
draw his peace. If he trust to that which fluctuates,
he will also fluctuate. If he leans upon that which
may be withdrawn, he will fall and be bruised. If
he looks for satisfaction imperishable accumulations, he will starve for
happiness in the midst of plenty. Let a man learn
to stand alone, looking to no one for support, expecting
no favors, craving no personal advantages, not begging nor complaining,
not craving nor regretting, but relying upon the truth within himself,
deriving his satisfaction and comfort from the integrity of his
own heart. If a man can find no peace within himself,
where shall he find it? If he dreads to be
alone with himself, what steadfastness shall he find in company?
If he can find no joy in communion with his
own thoughts, how shall he escape misery in his contact
with others. The man who has yet found nothing within
himself upon which to stand, will nowhere find a place
of constant rest. Men everywhere are deluded by the superstition
that their happiness rests with other people and with outward things,
and as a result they live in continual disappointments, regrets,
and lamentations. The man who does not look for happiness
to any others or to external things, but finds within
himself its inexhaustible source, will be self contained and serene
under all circumstances, and will never become the helpless victim
of misery and grief. The man who looks to others
for support, who measures his happiness by the conduct of
others and not by his own, who depends upon their
co operation for his peace of mind, such a man
has no spiritual foothold. His mind is tossed hither and
thither with the continual changes going on around him, and
he lives in that ceaseless ebb and flow of the spirits,
which is wretchedness and unrest. He is a spiritual cripple
and has yet to learn how to maintain his mental
center of gravity, and so go without the aid of crutches.
As a child learns to walk in order to go
about from place to place of itself strong and unaided,
so should a man learn to stand alone, to judge
and think and act for himself, and to choose in
the strength of his own mind, the oath way which
he should walk without his change and decay, and insecurity.
Within is all surety and blessedness. The soul is sufficient
of itself. Where the need is there, the abundant supply.
Your eternal dwelling place is within. Go there and take
possession of your mansion. There you are a king. Everywhere
you are a vassal. Be contended that others shall manage
or mismanage their own little kingdom, And see to it
that you reign strongly over your own, your entire well
being in the well being of the whole world lies there.
You have a conscience. Follow it. You have a mind.
Clarify it, you have judged, Use and improve it. You
have a will, employ and strengthen it. You have knowledge,
increase it. There is a light within your soul. Watch it,
tend it, encourage it, shield it from the winds of passion,
and help it to burn with a steadier and even
steadier radiance. Leave the world and come back to yourself.
Think as a man, Act as a man, Live as
a man. Be rich in yourself, Be complete in yourself.
Find the abiding center within you, and obey it. The
earth is maintaining its orbit by its obedience to its
center the sun. Obey the center of light that is
within you. Let others call it darkness if they will.
You are responsible for yourself, Are accountable to yourself. Therefore,
rely upon yourself. If you fear yourself, who will place
confidence in you? If you are untrue to yourself, where
shall you find the sweet satisfy of truth? The great
man stands alone in the simple dignity of independent manhood.
He pursues his own path fearlessly and does not apologize
or beg leave. Criticism and applause are no more to
him than dust upon his coat, of which he shakes
himself free. He is not guided by the changing opinions
of men, but guides himself by the light of his
own mind. Other Men barter away their manhood for messes
of flattery or fashion. Until you can stand alone looking
for guidance, neither to spirits nor mortals, gods nor men,
but guiding yourself by the light of truth within you. You
are not unfettered and free, not altogether blessed. But do
not mistake pride for self reliance. To attempt to stand
upon the crumbling foundation of pride is to be already fallen.
No man depends upon others more than the proud man.
He drinks in their approbation and resents their censure. He
mistakes flattery for sound judgment, and is most easily hurt
or pleased by the opinions of others. His happiness is
entirely in the hands of others. But the self reliant
man stands not upon personal pride, but on an abiding law, principle,
ideal reality within himself. Upon this he poises himself, refusing
to be swept from his strong foothold either by the
waves of passion within or the storms of opinion without.
But should he at any time lose his balance, he
quickly regains himself and is fully restored. His happiness is
entirely in his own hands. Find your center of balance
and succeed in standing alone. And whatever your work in
life may be, you will succeed. You will accomplish what
you set your mind upon. For the truly self reliant
man is the invincible man. But though you do not
rely upon others, learn of them. Never cease to increase
in knowledge, and be ever ready to receive that which
is good and useful. You cannot have too much humility.
The most self reliant men are the most humble. No aristocrat,
no prince born to the purple, can begin to compare
with the self respect of the saint. Why is he lowly,
but that he knows that he can well afford it,
resting on the largeness of God in him. Learn of
all men, and especially of the masters of truth. But
do not lose your hold upon the truth that the
ultimate guidance is in yourself. A master can say, here
is the path, but he can neither compel you to
walk it, nor can walk it for you. You must
put forth your own efforts, must achieve by your own strength,
must make his truth your truth by your own unaided exertions.
You must implicitly trust yourself. This thing is God. To
be man with thy might, to grow great in the
strength of thy spirit, and live out thy life as
the light. You are to be the master of yourself,
lord over yourself, not fawning and imitating, but doing your
work as a living, vital portion of the universe, giving
love but not expecting it, giving sympathy but not craving
for it, giving aid but not depending upon it. If
men should censure your work, heed them not. If suffice
that your work be true, rest you in this sufficiency.
Do not ask will my work please? But rather is
it real? If your work be true, the criticism of
men cannot touch it. If it be false, their disapproval
will not slay it quicker than it will die of itself.
The words and acts of truth cannot pass away until
their work is fully accomplished. The words and acts of
error cannot remain, for they have no work to do.
Criticism and resentment are alike superfluous. Free yourself from the
self imposed tyranny of slavish dependence and stand alone, not
as an isolated unit, but as a sympathetic portion of
the whole. Find the joy that results from well earned freedom,
the peace that flows from wise self possession, the blessedness
that inheres in its native strength. Honor to him who
self complete, If lone carves to the grave one pathway,
all his own, and heeding not that men may think
or say, ask, but his soul, if doubtful of the way,