The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-06-20
Commune With Yourself.

Enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut the door.-Matthew
vi. g.
Very few men put themselves under
q microscope and look at their
souls with the sharp eye of critical
analysis
determination is a prime duty,
but a duty which we either neglect
altogether or perform with reluc-
tance.
The consequence is that d great
many of US have yet to make our
own acquaintance.
To use laundering bit of rhetoric
in order to illustrate this statement,
our estimate of ourselves is SO differ
ent from what we really are that we
could pass ourselves on the highway
without a nod of recognition.
If we knew ourselves thoroughly
we should work with more economy
of energy and to far better purposes.
If we knew what we are best adap-
ted to do, and had an inventory of
the mental and moral material in
our possession to do it with, there
/ would be fewer signs and less heart
breaking.
, Calm. quiet, relentless self-exami-
nation, however, is the most irksome
task which we ever set ourf elves, and
we gladly avail ourselves of every
excuse to avoid it.
The simple truth is we have a Turk
ing suspicion that we are not as
large or as faithful or as strong or
, as noble as welike to think ourselves.
and we rather fear to look into the
matter lest our suspicious should be
| corroborated.
| We enjoy thu fiattery Or the i'm
pulsive praise of our friends and try
to persuade ourselves that the praise
or the fattery is deserved.
In VOID, it is q universal fault
that we prefer to see ourselves
through u magnifying glass, and
| have no desire to know the exact
| truth.
When contractor undertakes to
| build a house his first business is to
find out whether the necessary tim
Der and stone are within reach. He
has the plan of the house always in
mind, and SO knows what he must
| do and what he has to do it with.
| Each of his laborers has a tool chest,
and if any one should spply for work
not having the proper tools, or not
knowing how to use them, he would
| be trea ted with scoTnful contempt.
In practical life, when one wishes to
earn his living, he must know his
| trade and have at hand the inst1u-
| ments which alone can make him an
available artisan. Nothing could be
more absurd than for man to
apply for work as a carpenter or
mason who was ignorant of his
| ability TO do what he is to be paid
wages for doing.
The same rule applies when we are
| The wise man is student. He
knows what elements go to max, up
| a character, and whether he is in
possession of those elements, or, if
not, whether it is possible to develop
them, and whether a character is
| worth the sacrifices which must be
| made in order to construct it. All
this determination is his equip,
ment, and when he has reached his
! conclusions he can work in1elligently
and successfully.
If he is a foolish man-and most of
us are foolish in this respect-he
neither knows much about the
| material in his own soul, with which
he is to do his work, nor the plan
according to which he is to shape his
life. and as a consequence has no
definiteness of purpose and wastes
his energies, for if he begins with
ignorance he is apt to end with dis
appointment.
See the wrecked lives scattered
along the shores of timel What
more pathetic picture can be con-
ceived than that of u man who has
made the worst of himself? ? is
early hopes and ambitions, like the
timbers of a stranded vessel, lie
bleaching in the sun. The waves
that break on the beach sound like a
difge, and you can hear in the air
the tolling of bells. Why has this
misfortune befallen? In most eases
beca use he had no high aim, and was
governed by impulse rather than
conviction. Ii he had known himself
more accurately his life would not be
he traeedy it is.
What can we do, then, to keep
ourselves from making these fatal
mistakes? Here is a very practical
question. The clergy will tell you to
get religion" But religion is not
a thing TO be plucked from II tree
like peaches. True, you must have
| religion, but where is it and what is
it?
A very simple rule will unfold the
great secret. Acquire the. habit of
self communion, and everything else
will f. How. Spend thirty minutes
every day in the silence of our own
chan Der, talking to your soul about
the great concerns of life, and it will
not be long before you have God to
keep you company Quiet, restful
| conJempla ton is more magical than
magic itself. lie is utterly impossi
| ble Tor man to think about himself
| for half an hour without becoming
ashamed OF himself, and shame after
| Il little will transmute itself into
resolution. Look over your pur-
| oses and motives critically and
| impartiaii, shut out the world and
| unfold yourself to yourself. Examine
your hopes and fears, coming to a
is liberate Judgment concerning their
value, and you will find sooner or
later that invisible beings who
| walk The eaI tn both when We wake
| aud when we sleep" Are your welcome
companions. There is nothing SO
| nearly omnipotent, SO TRANSPORTING,
| nothing that can SO quickly bring
] you Self control, oDtentaent and
| the consciousness of Gods presence
in your lille as quiet determination
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