Long Valley advocate. (Lardo, Idaho) 1904-1907, 1906-01-04
KINDLING THE DIVINE FIRE

force on imperative ends, which the
ingenuity Of man has devised in can
non, steamship or simple watch-yes,
thence comes the tremendous momen-
tum and striking-home power of that
saying of old, "The children of this
world are wiser in their day and gen.
GRAFTON than the children of light"
But to return to our Hebrew psalm
list with his thrilling cutlery, while
was musing the fire burned; then
spake l with my tongue" What had
he been doing to kindle and fan the
fire that famed out in such rapt in
spiration on his tongue? He had been
musing. But what did he mean by mus
ing? He had been brooding, incubat-
Ing, quickening to throbbing con-
scious life a great theme of medita-
ton; and thereby had ben setting on
marvellous, mystically-divine pro-
cess he mad often paused in love and
reverence to witness in some little
bird-a wren or sparrow, sitting pa
tiently in it's nest on it's little circlet
OF eggs in prophetic anticipation of
great JOY to break out of them.
Little did the tiny creature reflect,
lively know of the creative function
she was subscribing, or of the seem
1ngly miraculous transformations 60
ing on underneath her warm, foster
Ing body AS a great mind has said:
1T is not always needful for truth to
take definite shape; it is enough if
1t hovers about us like a spirit and
produces harmony; if it is waited
through the air like the sound of a
bell, grave and kindly" The little
bird was acting on an instinct which
yet to her was vague, but delightful,
soul-experlence; undifferentiated ele-
ment of the vaguely-apprehende uni
versal soul. And so dim sacred i'm
pulse held her patient and faithful to
her often wearisome task. Should she
fly away, and, yielding to the fascina-
ton of change and novelty, stay away
too long, then, bereft of her fostering
warmth, the miracle-working process
would cease it's play as her eggs grew
cold and added.
So equally with our Hebrew psalm.
list in his brooding, incubating nro-
cess OF so quickening to life his great
theme as finally to cry out, while 1
was musing the fire burned; then
spake | with my tongue" But it was
no rapturous discovery for his person
al behoOf alone. 1t was to illustrate
and emphasize an experience which
must become the inheritance of uni
Versal humanity, and apart from
which there can exist no rich. deep.
varied, genial, grateful interior life in
any man or woman. Until one has
learned-in some feeble measure at
least-to brood and incubate the pro-
foundest problems of human relations
and human destiny, he must remain
trivial, unsympathetic and
tedious, IL not uncomfortable, to live |
with. Perpetual surface activity. with |
no underlying quickening process set
on by habits of meditation, is the one
sure flnty and dust-whirling highway
to intellectual, social and religious
bankruptcy of soul. And why?
Simply because every isolated
thought, object or personality in tho
world is by itself trivial and con.
Lemptible. 1t must gather around
itself rich, varied, beautiful CHEEKY
ana oeVout associations. And it is
only through hours of profound CRATE.
-ul meditation on all that any single
oplect-wife, child, nature, art, oppor.
has been to us for
years, that we can cry out of them in
'apture:
Not in entire forgetfulness.
ana not in utter nakedness