If you can learn to
be a non-anxious
presence in difficult
situations while
at the same time
being clear about
your own goals
and values, others
will recognize the
spiritual strength
underlying your life.
as living with:
A caring and thoughtful approach to
people that looks not just at their immediate
welfare but also at what is going to help them
be better people in the future
A broad body of knowledge regularly
brought to life in the useful things you do
and say
A rich and deep understanding of
people and how they interact as individuals
and in groups; an understanding of this
created world that we live in and the history
that has helped shape and guide the life we
experience today. This broad understanding
is one of the great gifts of a liberal education.
An awareness that each day can teach
you important things you have not known
before
Energy and a willingness to serve others
An integrity that is deep and strong; one that helps you live what you
believe without feeling the need to attack others who view things differently.
A set of values that define who you are
A final quality that I would wish for you is called “rational good” in
the Writings of the New Church. Rational good is contrasted with a quality
called “rational truth,” which is knowledge separated from a concern for
what is useful, kind and truly good for others. Rational truth shows itself in
a destructively critical outlook on life. Being destructively critical does not
require understanding or skill. Picture a couple of guys with sledge hammers
and a Sawzall or two: They can turn a house into a trash heap in a single week,
but it took skilled craftsmen months to build that house.
Listen to how rational good is described in the Arcana Caelestia:
Rational good never fights, no matter how much it is assailed, because it is gentle
and mild, long-suffering and yielding, for its nature is that of love and mercy. But
although it does not fight, it nevertheless conquers all. It does not ever think of
combat, nor does it glory in victory. It is of this nature because it is Divine and is
safe of itself. (Arcana Caelestia 1950:2)
Many people in this world long for the confidence that this state of mind
carries with it – not an arrogant self-confidence, but a self-confidence based on
the trust that if we work with the Lord, amazing things can happen.
If you can learn to be a non-anxious presence in difficult situations,
while at the same time being clear about your own goals and values, others
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