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Speaker 1: Standing alone by all means used to be alone. Salute thyself.

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See what thy soul doth wear. George Herbert. He that

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has light within his own clear breast may sit in

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the center and enjoy bright day Milton. In the life

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of blessedness, self reliance is of the utmost importance. If

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there is no peace, there must be strength. If there

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is to be security, there must be stability. If there

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is to be lasting joy, there must be no leaning

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upon things which at any moment may be snatched away forever.

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A man does not commence to truly live until he

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finds an immovable center within himself on which to stand,

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by which to regulate his life, and from which to

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draw his peace. If he trust to that which fluctuates,

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he will also fluctuate. If he leans upon that which

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may be withdrawn, he will fall and be bruised. If

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he looks for satisfaction imperishable accumulations, he will starve for

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happiness in the midst of plenty. Let a man learn

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to stand alone, looking to no one for support, expecting

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no favors, craving no personal advantages, not begging nor complaining,

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not craving nor regretting, but relying upon the truth within himself,

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deriving his satisfaction and comfort from the integrity of his

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own heart. If a man can find no peace within himself,

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where shall he find it? If he dreads to be

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alone with himself, what steadfastness shall he find in company?

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If he can find no joy in communion with his

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own thoughts, how shall he escape misery in his contact

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with others. The man who has yet found nothing within

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himself upon which to stand, will nowhere find a place

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of constant rest. Men everywhere are deluded by the superstition

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that their happiness rests with other people and with outward things,

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and as a result they live in continual disappointments, regrets,

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and lamentations. The man who does not look for happiness

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to any others or to external things, but finds within

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himself its inexhaustible source, will be self contained and serene

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under all circumstances, and will never become the helpless victim

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of misery and grief. The man who looks to others

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for support, who measures his happiness by the conduct of

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others and not by his own, who depends upon their

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co operation for his peace of mind, such a man

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has no spiritual foothold. His mind is tossed hither and

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thither with the continual changes going on around him, and

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he lives in that ceaseless ebb and flow of the spirits,

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which is wretchedness and unrest. He is a spiritual cripple

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and has yet to learn how to maintain his mental

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center of gravity, and so go without the aid of crutches.

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As a child learns to walk in order to go

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about from place to place of itself strong and unaided,

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so should a man learn to stand alone, to judge

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and think and act for himself, and to choose in

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the strength of his own mind, the oath way which

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he should walk without his change and decay, and insecurity.

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Within is all surety and blessedness. The soul is sufficient

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of itself. Where the need is there, the abundant supply.

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Your eternal dwelling place is within. Go there and take

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possession of your mansion. There you are a king. Everywhere

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you are a vassal. Be contended that others shall manage

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or mismanage their own little kingdom, And see to it

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that you reign strongly over your own, your entire well

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being in the well being of the whole world lies there.

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You have a conscience. Follow it. You have a mind.

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Clarify it, you have judged, Use and improve it. You

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have a will, employ and strengthen it. You have knowledge,

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increase it. There is a light within your soul. Watch it,

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tend it, encourage it, shield it from the winds of passion,

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and help it to burn with a steadier and even

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steadier radiance. Leave the world and come back to yourself.

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Think as a man, Act as a man, Live as

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a man. Be rich in yourself, Be complete in yourself.

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Find the abiding center within you, and obey it. The

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earth is maintaining its orbit by its obedience to its

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center the sun. Obey the center of light that is

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within you. Let others call it darkness if they will.

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You are responsible for yourself, Are accountable to yourself. Therefore,

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rely upon yourself. If you fear yourself, who will place

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confidence in you? If you are untrue to yourself, where

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shall you find the sweet satisfy of truth? The great

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man stands alone in the simple dignity of independent manhood.

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He pursues his own path fearlessly and does not apologize

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or beg leave. Criticism and applause are no more to

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him than dust upon his coat, of which he shakes

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himself free. He is not guided by the changing opinions

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of men, but guides himself by the light of his

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own mind. Other Men barter away their manhood for messes

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of flattery or fashion. Until you can stand alone looking

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for guidance, neither to spirits nor mortals, gods nor men,

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but guiding yourself by the light of truth within you. You

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are not unfettered and free, not altogether blessed. But do

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not mistake pride for self reliance. To attempt to stand

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upon the crumbling foundation of pride is to be already fallen.

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No man depends upon others more than the proud man.

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He drinks in their approbation and resents their censure. He

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mistakes flattery for sound judgment, and is most easily hurt

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or pleased by the opinions of others. His happiness is

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entirely in the hands of others. But the self reliant

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man stands not upon personal pride, but on an abiding law, principle,

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ideal reality within himself. Upon this he poises himself, refusing

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to be swept from his strong foothold either by the

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waves of passion within or the storms of opinion without.

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But should he at any time lose his balance, he

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quickly regains himself and is fully restored. His happiness is

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entirely in his own hands. Find your center of balance

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and succeed in standing alone. And whatever your work in

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life may be, you will succeed. You will accomplish what

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you set your mind upon. For the truly self reliant

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man is the invincible man. But though you do not

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rely upon others, learn of them. Never cease to increase

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in knowledge, and be ever ready to receive that which

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is good and useful. You cannot have too much humility.

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The most self reliant men are the most humble. No aristocrat,

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no prince born to the purple, can begin to compare

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with the self respect of the saint. Why is he lowly,

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but that he knows that he can well afford it,

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resting on the largeness of God in him. Learn of

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all men, and especially of the masters of truth. But

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do not lose your hold upon the truth that the

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ultimate guidance is in yourself. A master can say, here

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is the path, but he can neither compel you to

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walk it, nor can walk it for you. You must

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put forth your own efforts, must achieve by your own strength,

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must make his truth your truth by your own unaided exertions.

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You must implicitly trust yourself. This thing is God. To

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be man with thy might, to grow great in the

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strength of thy spirit, and live out thy life as

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the light. You are to be the master of yourself,

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lord over yourself, not fawning and imitating, but doing your

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work as a living, vital portion of the universe, giving

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love but not expecting it, giving sympathy but not craving

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for it, giving aid but not depending upon it. If

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men should censure your work, heed them not. If suffice

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that your work be true, rest you in this sufficiency.

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Do not ask will my work please? But rather is

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it real? If your work be true, the criticism of

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men cannot touch it. If it be false, their disapproval

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will not slay it quicker than it will die of itself.

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The words and acts of truth cannot pass away until

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their work is fully accomplished. The words and acts of

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error cannot remain, for they have no work to do.

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Criticism and resentment are alike superfluous. Free yourself from the

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self imposed tyranny of slavish dependence and stand alone, not

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as an isolated unit, but as a sympathetic portion of

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the whole. Find the joy that results from well earned freedom,

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the peace that flows from wise self possession, the blessedness

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that inheres in its native strength. Honor to him who

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self complete, If lone carves to the grave one pathway,

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all his own, and heeding not that men may think

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or say, ask, but his soul, if doubtful of the way,