Saturday, January 23, 2010

365-22

















This morning we reflected on the saying

Sow a thought reap an action
Sow an action reap a habit
Sow a habit reap character
Sow a character reap a destiny

Clara has been reading the Secret Garden for literature. During her review I happened to sit with her during her lesson and found that one of the themes ties in so nicely. Could it be an accident? I don't think so!! Here are some quotes from the book...(Warning..this is long, but really quite good when you read an reflect on it...applicable to all of us today!!)

One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that thoughts--just mere thoughts--are as powerful as electric batteries--as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison. To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got in you may never get over it as long as you live.

So as long as Mistress Mary's mind was full of disagreeable thoughts about her dislikes and sour opinions of people and her determination not to be pleased by or interested in anything, she was a yellow-faced, sickly, bored and wretched child. Circumstances, however, were very kind to her, though she was not aware of it. They began to push her about for her own good. When her mind gradually filled itself with robins, and moorland cottages crowded with children...there was no room left for disagreeable thoughts which affected her liver and her digestion and made her yellow and tired.

So long as Colin shut himself up in his room and thought only of his fears and weakness and his detestation of people who looked at him and reflected hourly on humps and early death, he was a hysterical half-crazed little hypochondriac who knew nothing of sunshine and the spring and also did not know he could get well and stand upon his feet if he tried to do it. When new beautiful thoughts began to push out the old hideous ones, life began to come back to him, his blood ran heathily through his veins and strength poured into him like a flood. His scientific experiment was quite practical and simple and there was nothing weird about it at all.

Much more surprising things can happen to any one who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place.

"Where you tend a rose, my lad, A thistle cannot grow."

1 comment:

The Felkins said...

What a great lesson to learn! I need to incorporate that into the days ahead as this might be the last semester I have mine both at home all day!