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DISCOVER YOURSELF
[From The Mystic Triangle September 1925]
It is all very well for each of us to be greatly concerned about the development of any latent faculties we may possess, but before this step is taken, we should strive to discover ourselves. There is no question but what each of us has a number of latent abilities. Some may be more potential than others; and the least developed of them may be the most important. To simply learn what faculties or abilities are weak in our character and develop all of these a little more or to greater strength, does not constitute the first essential for success in life. Regardless of whether we believe that each was born to fill some Divine mission in life, there is no question about the principle that each of us must efficiently perform some duty and make some constructive contribution toward human welfare if we wish to take our place in the long line of human workers on earth. There are certain, definite lines of work to be done. These change from time to time as civilization advances, as science makes obsolete some activities and introduces others. The world is a beehive of activity and the drones cannot be successful in any sense. He is happiest and most successful who is daily and hourly employed in advancing civilization or assisting in meeting the demands of humanity. Workers, not parasites, are the real successes in the world regardless of personal wealth or material possessions. If we can do that work which is most befitting our natural inclinations and most agreeable with our abilities and fortitude, then we shall be most successful in accomplishment and contribution to the general lot. It behooves us, therefore, to discover, not what is weakest in our makeup, so much as what is essentially strongest in our latent abilities and natural functions. In other words, we must discover our SELVES,--discover in each of us the SELF that is the real self. That self will be the self that succeeds through doing its natural work. It will be the self that makes a distinct and valuable contribution to the needs of the many while giving pleasure and peace as well as profit to the individual. Some are born artists: it is a high decree that through and with art shall they add to the human requirements and advance civilization. Some are born musicians and through music will they make the world better and fulfill their own obligations. Others are born to be engineers, scientists, teachers, investigators, writers, lecturers, and mechanics. Others are born to labor in definite lines and by the sweat of their brow earn the necessities of life while filling a necessary place in the scheme of things. Mothers are born with the instinct of motherhood and it is their duty to give this service to the world--and incidentally enjoy the fruits of their great donation to human requirements as greatly as do those who render service in any other way. Inclination is not always a safe guide in the selection of one's vocation or employment. Very often one must occupy two places in the scheme of things,--patron and producer. One's inclination for music may be interpreted as admiration for it and indicative of the support as patron that one should give rather than that one should make it a profession. Likewise inclinations may result in hobbies for recreation without having any relation to that which one should do as a vocation. Success in the world, especially in the business world, means more than being busy, applied and tired from endless activities. It means producing the best that can come from our minds and hands, contributing efficiently to the world's needs and at the same time earning and deserving a rightful share of the world's goods as proper remuneration. Discover in your SELF what you should do in this sense, to be successful and worthy of a place in the list of the world's doers,--that is the aim of all study, all analysis, all self-development. | ||
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