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Wisdom of the Ages

By George A. Fuller

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XXVI

I am tired and sick of the cry, I can't do this and I can't do that. The world cares only for what thou canst do.

Show the world, then, that thou art capable of doing something.

No man ruled by "I can't" ever amounted to anything.

It is possible for the man who says "I can" to conquer and rule the world.

Receive then, oh, soul, thine own message! Be true to its light and the shadow of "Can't" will never cross thy pathway.

Art thou merely a creature of circumstances, ruled in all thy thoughts and actions by the stars?

Shame on thee, if such be thy thought! [paragraph continues]Arise in the dignity of the god thou art intended to be, and rule in the universe that is thine own.

Instead of thou being subject to the stars, they should obey the mandates of thy will.

The sturdy oak-tree, sound at its core, is rocked and swayed by the hurricane that sweeps over it, but when the storm has passed, undaunted it lifts once more its branches toward the heavens.

Thou mayst be rocked and swayed, oh, man, by influences both mundane and celestial, but learn to keep the equipoise of the soul.

Many times thou wilt be disturbed by others even in the life thou art living. Remember thou mayst disturb others.

Let these disturbances and these annoyances fall off from thee. Rise, and in the majesty of thy spirit show that thou art superior to these things.

Neither the pleasant nor the unpleasant things are the all-important ones in life. As results tower aloft above all experiences, so do motives become by far more important than acts.

Trials are good for thee when thou art not conquered by them. They lift the curtains to many a window and reveal in part the workings of the soul within.

Be patient; the universe was not made by thee, neither were the men and women in it.

Let them alone, to either live their own lives or become victims of unseen vampires.

It is enough for thee to look out for thine own life, for it is a most difficult thing to keep clear from all the snares that surround thee.

Rise out of the realm of I can't into that of I can, and then shall all the divine possibilities of the soul be revealed unto thee.

Only truth should sway and bend thee; only the wings of love and mercy uplift thee, and only justice dictate thy course.

Out of strife shall come peace, and out of the performance of the most unpleasant and unwelcome duties of life come rest to thy soul.