COURAGE ABROAD

Categories: Chapter I - The Twin-Verses
Books: Mastery of Self

And I hold that our life is growing better for the reason that I

discover, in all this new adjustment to truth, this expectation

and assumption that Good will not withhold itself, and BECAUSE of

these things, a new era of courage sweeping the heart of humanity

from sea to sea There is abroad a Universal Breath, manifest of

Life This breath consists of two general activities, that of

Denial and that of Affir ation Courage is a denial of fear and of

the reality of fear's cause But denial is only the beginning; the

really vital thing is confidence in self and in the huge friendly

Universe in which we live Kindly remember this You are not

making progress merely because you turn your back on the Night

Progress means that you also turn face to the Sun and walk

buoyantly into the Day Courage is affirmation:



I am the spirit of the soul

Harmonic with the Perfect Whole



Why, the attitude of healthy denial is everywhere apparent Permit

me to run over some of the things that are coming more and more to

be refused acceptance You will understand that the items are

illustrations only We are denying: The divine right of kings; the

littleness and unholiness of fundamental human nature; a God who

is a kind of huge carpenter; a Deity who needs to be appeased; a

Providence which punishes; the idea that some people are created

for toil and service and others for ease and to be served; the

notion that we must eschew all drugs or depend only on drugs; the

thought which makes disease an entity; the fancy that the illness

of some is a divine will; the feeling that wealth should not be

craved, or that it exists for a favored few; the creed that "evil"

is a necessary existence; the faith that heaven is reserved for

the "elect" who "believe" a number of things; the horror of an

eternal hell; the heresy that religion, the spiritual, need have

anything to do with creeds, rites or ceremonies; the feeling that

success is only for the favored ones of earth; and so on, and so

on



These are merely miscellaneous examples of the thousand old-time

"truths" which are now more and more denied Many pages would be

required to set forth the ideas and dogmas which are unceasingly

and emphatically being rejected, thoughtfully, deliberately, and

in a wholesale manner throughout the world of earnest men and

women to-day



But when you deny, it is a great mistake if you do not affirm

something better The breath of courage which is sweeping over the

earth, therefore, is splendidly declaring for ten thousand

deathless realities to take the place of mistaken beliefs I have

space simply for a few illustrations Are we not affirming

somewhat as follows at the present time?