Little Things

SEPT. 23, 1980, 5:25 AM
W. WILLOW, STUDY

Let us speak this morning, o son, of little things… of small, potentially irritating events that occur every day, certainly. You turned the air conditioner off, and it was a quiet early morning; Matthew turned it back on (and there is no need for it) and it whirs disturbingly, taking away the silence. That is the perfect example of what we shall consider today… and how such events affect the spirit.

Remember that the mind, particularly one relatively trained to rationality such as yours, is protective of the self and prejudiced toward the rational. There is no need for the air conditioner’s loud laboring and you don’t like it, so you feel it as an irritation. The spirit, however, considers this to be something that another person wants and therefore… fine, let him have it. (If he would ask you for your cloak give him your coat as well… even if he doesn’t need it.) Beyond the fact of it being something another wants, it is a reminder of concern for self. You want your own way. The spirit within you reminds you that this tendency feeds on itself. If you get your way in one situation this is pleasant, so you want it again… and again.

Most of the instances are “little things”… no circumstance to magnify or see as representative of life principles. But I must remind you that each is an opportunity – a miniature jewel of an opportunity – to display selfishness or selflessness. In as much as ye do it in one of the least of these experiences ye build toward self or toward others.

Another important insight is just what you are thinking – “it doesn’t make sense.” Truly, it doesn’t. And yet it does. The way is thus. If you accept the wants of others, irrational though they seem to be, in the little things, you build the self that gives others the advantages in the important experiences of life. It comes more naturally. You are not “hurt” by it… as you tend to be if you are used to having things “your way”.

It is an exercise in spirit. It clearly is of little real consequence. The amount of electricity used will not disrupt your finances. The noise is not ear-splitting or soul jangling. The exercise is: can you cheerfully accept this… give it to him, as the coat or the second mile? If you can, spirit “wins” and grows. If you can’t, spirit “loses”… may even atrophy a little.