Wisdom Vault — onlinknow.co.za

hovFpoor you are, there is room- 4o f» h Path of Prosperity self-sacrifice, for did not the widow put her all into the treasury ? The heart that truly desires to do good does not wait for money before doing it, but comes to the altar of sacrifice, and, leav- ing there the unworthy elements of self, goes out and breathes upon neighbor and stranger, friend and enemy alike, the breath of blessed- ness.

As the effect is related to the cause, so is pros- perity and power related to the inward good, and poverty and weakness to the inward evil. Money does not constitute true wealth, nor position, nor power, and to rely upon it alone is stand upon a slippery place.

Your true wealth is your stock of virtue, and your true power the uses to which you put it. Rectify your heart, and you will rectify your life. Lust, hatred, anger, vanity, pride, covetousness, self-indulgence, self-seeking, obstinacy, — all these are poverty and weakness ; whereas, love, purity, gentleness, meekness, patience, compassion, gen- erosity, self-forgetfulness, and self-renunciation, —all these are wealth and power.

As the elements of poverty and weakness are overcome, an irresistible and all-conquering power is evolved from within, and he who suc- ceeds in establishing himself in the highest virtue, brings the whole world to his feet. But the rich, as well as the poor, have their The Way On ons 41 J ^ undesirable concffio^^l feidk are frequently farther removed from happiness than the poor And here we see how happiness depends, no upon outward aids or possessions, but upon the inward life.

Perhaps you are an employer, and you have endless trouble with those whom you employ, and when you do get good and faithfujt servants they quickly leave you. As a res you are beginning to lose, or have complet^l lost, your faith in human nature.

You try to remedy matters by giving better wages, and by allowing certain liberties, yet matters remain un altered. Let me advise you. The secret of all your trouble is not in your servants, it is in your- self; and if you look within, with a humble an sincere desire to discover and eradicate yo error, you will, sooner or later, find the origin all your unhappiness.

It may be some selfis desire, or lurking suspicion, or unkind attitude of mind which sends out its poison upon those about you, and reacts upon yourself, even though you may not show it in your manner or speech. Think of your servants with kindness, consider their happiness and comfort, and never demand of them that extremity of service whicfy you yourself would not care to perform were you in their place.

Rare and beautiful is that humility of soul by which a servant entirely forgeti|:Jiim\ self in his master's good; but far rarer, and.- 42 The Path of Prosperity beautiful with a divine beauty, is that nobility of soul by which a man, forgetting his own happiness, seeks the happiness of those who are under his authority, and who depend upon him for their bodily sustenance.

And such a man's happiness is increased tenfold, nor does he need to complain of those whom he employs. Said a well-known and extensive employer of labor, who never needs to dismiss an employee : " I have always had the happiest relations with my workpeople.

If you ask me how it is to be aca$^ted for, I can only say that it has been my aim from the first to do to them as I would wish to be done by." Herein lies the secret by s-Jf, which all desirable conditions are secured, and all that are undesirable are overcome.