Ralph Waldo Trine - Little Builders, New Thought Talk to Children (1916)

7/30/2019 Ralph Waldo Trine - Little Builders, New Thought Talk to Children (1916)

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LITTLE BUILDERS


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LITTLE BUILDERSNEW THOUGHT TALKS TO CHILDREN

BYDOROTHY GRENSIDE

WITH A FOREWORD BYRALPH WALDO TRINE

NEW YORKDODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY214-220 EAST 2SD STREET


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[little builders]Copyright 1916 by Dodge Publishing Company

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AUG -9 1916&CLA437235VtO / -


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CONTENTSForeword. By Ralph Waldo Trine .CHAPTER

I. Where God is Dwelling .II. Your Body is a Coat .

III. Every Little Thought a ThingIV. Thought-Giving and Thought-

Getting ....V. How to Build a Castle .

VI. The Joy of Work .VII. Brothers on the Path .

VIII. A Sword of Shining PowerIX. The Little Secret Key .X. Your Spirit-Self and Lower SelfXI. The Building of Strength and

BeautyXII. CourageXIII. Messengers of LoveXIV. By Love We Serve

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FOREWORDTHERE is something that we of to-day know that was known to very

few of those who have gone before us.There are very many, even of the olderones among us to-day, who do not know it.Children throughout all the world shouldbe very happy to know it, while it may beof the greatest use to them.

It is the wonderful fact that thoughtsare forcesthat each thought builds of itsown kind. As we think, so we become.Like not only builds like, but like alsoattracts like. By our thoughts we are con-tinually attracting to us conditions andpeople of the same kinds as the thoughtswhich we entertain and live mostly with.

It is a very old and a very true sayingthat birds of a feather flock together. It


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8 FOREWORDis because of this lawthat like attractslike. There is nothing that comes bychance; and the more we know, the moreclearly we realise this.

Life is of our own making, whether werealise it or not. To make itas we wouldhave itthrough an understanding and awise use of thought, is surely the part ofthe wise, and, therefore, of the happy.

Thoughts of love and good-will aresensed and are felt by others, and theyin turn draw to us love and good-will fromothers. Thoughts of anger or hatred orill-will arouse in others, and draw to usfrom them, thoughts and feelings of thesesame types.Thoughts of health and wholeness en-

able the Life-force within to build healthycell-tissue, which means health and whole-ness of body. Thoughts of weakness andlikewise of fear make us weak within, and


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FOREWORD 9weaken our efforts in all we do. Thoughtsof strength and of courage make us strongwithin, and make all our outward effortsmore effective and successful.

So within us lies the cause of whateverin time takes form in our lives. We aloneare the makers of our own good or illfortunes.

It was our Master Who taught thatGod is within usHe dwells in the realmof our inner minds. To desire always andto believe that He directs and that Heprotects us in all our ways, makes Hisleading and His protection doubly sure.He also taught us that God is Love.

The more, then, that we love and showour love for all peoplewherever theymay live in the worldthe more we showthat God lives in us. Deeds of kindnessare the best means, and in most cases theonly means, that we have of showing our


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10 FOREWORDlove. And God would have us never failin kindness and care for all of our dumbfellow-creatures ; for they are of His crea-tion just as we are, and abide in His love.

It is, then, the thoughts that we enter-tain and live most continually with, whichwill determine our lives. The life will fol-low the thought without fail.

Truly, therefore, children throughoutall the world should be very happy tolearn, and mothers should be very happyto teach them that their lives are to be oftheir own makingthat they are buildingtheir lives by the thoughts they entertain.

Ralph Waldo Trine.Sunnybrae Farm,

Croton-on-the-Hudson,New York.


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BEFORE WE BEGINSO YOU have come to me for a story."A real one, please," you say.So we will leave the pixies and elves toplay by themselves in the wood,the mer-

maids shall swim through the golden seas,and we will not look their way.For I have something for you which is

better than a story.We will speak to-night of the realthings, just you and I together.


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I

WHERE GOD IS DWELLING

IWANT you first to understand thatI realty mean it when I say that God iseverywhere and is within j'Ou.He is not tucked away in some great

far-off Heaven, so that you wonder ifyour prayers can climb so high: He isnot living only in a church, to which thepeople go to find Him once a week; Hedoes not merely listen to you when yousay your prayers, or suddenly keep watchwhen you do wrong.He is in the very air which now youbreathe, He is in every stone or flower

or tree, He is in all the fishes, birds andbeasts, and in every little child you meetupon the road.

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14 LITTLE BUILDERS"Is He in the flowers?" you ask me.Yes, I mean exactly what I say. He is

in them all, because He made them byHis ThoughtHe is their Life. Thiswhole big world is just a Thought ofGod'sHe made it by His Thinking.

Life is another word for Thought, andboth are words for God. It is wonderfulthat Thought can be so strong; but youtoo have this great gift growing, andalthough you cannot yet build livingplants or trees, your thoughts will someday grow so beautiful that they will blos-som into lovely flowers.

God's Thoughts are always beautiful:He makes no ugly house of bricks, butbuilds great trees with outstretched shel-tering arms, and fills with life each tinyleaf and twig.You must learn to love the trees, for

God is truly living in their forms ; I would


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LITTLE BUILDERS 15not have you pass through life and failto find Him there. Don't cut your nameupon the bark, or break the boughs away.God built the tree, so try to see His Lifewithin, and do not spoil a Thought ofGod's. Always remember that where youcan see Life, that Life is God, and there-fore Life must be to you a precious thing.Each flower you pick is a little House

that He has made to hold a tiny part ofHim, for He does not leave a flower togrow aloneit could not live unless Hedwelt inside. So while it is living He isdwelling there : it dies because He goes.

It grieves me if you pick a flower andthrow it on the path because you findanother you like better, or because youtire of carrying it, for then you take awaya little House in which God loves to dwell.So water the flowers in your garden if

the sun has parched them up, and God


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16 LITTLE BUILDERSwill stay a little longer in the Houses Hehas made.

If you must pick them, do so then withtender, loving hands: yet I would ratherthat you left a daisy growing in the grass,just where God's Thought has rested.Of course I do not mean that you must

leave each weed to grow, for weeds willchoke and spoil a lovelier House of God.You must check them if they thrive withinyour garden, yet even weeds may live un-touched in wild and lonely spots. ...What other Houses can we find?You shall think and tell me.What! Are you shaking your head?Why, who is it that is sitting on the

hearth-rug washing her face with herpaws, and who is it scratching outside thedoor, hoping to join you here?Pussy and Jack.What beautiful little Houses we are


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LITTLE BUILDERS 17finding now, so full of life and under-standing!

See the spider spinning her web, andthe sparrow building her nest ! Go to thepool in the wood and watch the minnowsplay! See how Jack looks for his masterand knows the click of the gate! Can'tyou see God peeping through the windowsof each House?

Because you know that He is there youmust not harm the smallest thing thatlives, unless it harms another life becauseit has not learnt as yet obedience to itsInner God. To take life means that youdrive God from His House, and youcannot bring Him back again howevermuch you try.

So when you are big, and people speakto you of "sport"which is the name theygive to killing animals for "fun"youmust see the God within each living thing,


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18 LITTLE BUILDERSand say you will not hurt His House.This will show that you have learnt alesson of much value,that you know thatthe life within each bird or beast is thesame great Life that looks more clearlythrough your windows,those blue-eyedwindows of your soul that God is shiningthrough!You understand that every living thing

is just a part of God: to hurt it must hurtyou, for you are one with God. To helpit brings you happinessthe REALYOU I am speaking of, the You wholives within the House.You know now why I say that God is

never far away, for He is the Life in youand in all that grows or moves or thinks,the Life in every leaf, or bird or child.Now you can see why ycm must keep

your House spotless and pjire.If your hands and face are grubby,


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LITTLE BUILDERS 19wash them clean, for God is living in you.Yet not only must you keep the outsideof that House as cleanly as you can, youmust brush the cobwebs from the insidetoo. Those cobwebs come from unkindthoughts and angry words: they soil theHouse and make it dark and ugly, andGod cannot use it as He would.We grown-up people take care of itfor you while you are small, so that someday the Real You may speak through itto others who do not understand. . . .You must remember that nothing can

hurt you which only hurts your House.When you were tired yesterday it wasonly the House that felt the need of rest,when you fell and bruised your knee itwas only the House that felt the pain.Learn that such hurts do not matter:

be brave and take them cheerily. Your


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20 LITTLE BUILDERSHouse can stand such outer knocks, andgrows much stronger by the help of them.

It is the inside cobwebs that we talkedabout that you must guard against, thoseunkind thoughts and angry words. Sweepthem away with the brush that is yours!Keep the House sweet and clean for theGod who lives within!"The brush?" you ask. "What brush

can you mean?"I watch your dear, wide, questioning

eyes.Of course you know that I must mean

Your Will


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II

YOUR BODY IS A COAT

IWANT you to remember every min-ute of the day that this body of yours

which seems so real a thing is only usefulto you because it tells the Spirit that livesin it all the lessons that it learns. It isthe means whereby your Spirit grows.

This Spirit in you must be God, for it isLife, and Life we know is God. This iswhy Life seems so precious to us: this iswhy we teach our bodies to be servantsthat obey, for we know they must not beour masters.Suppose you wanted to go in the gar-den, and your feet refused and walkedupstairs instead?That makes you laugh, I know, but that

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22 LITTLE BUILDERSis just what happens when you are angryand cross. Your body is not doing whatyou wish, for the Real You inside is a partof God, and God is Love, to whom allquarrelling is wrong.When you lose your temper you haveforgotten that you are Love, and your

body then is like your feet that will notwalk the way you want.

So the next time you are angry, say toyourself,

"It is my body that likes to be cross,but I am not my body."

Stop another minute, and say to your-self very slowly and quietly,

"I AM LOVE, I AM LOVE."And you will find that your angry temperleaves you, and that you want "to kiss andbe friends"; because Love that is in youis stronger than your body.Love is like a King upon a throne, his


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LITTLE BUILDERS 23country is your body and you must lethim rule it wisely and well. When otherpeople are angry you must not be angrytoo; just because their bodies are fightingagainst their King, you must not let yoursdo the same.Try to help them. Try to see Love,

the King,seated on his throne, howevermuch his country is upset ; for if you lookfor Love it will help him to rule, not onlyin another heart, but in your own aswell.You must look for Love in all your do

it is a law that is sure and true that any-thing that lacks Logre must be wrong.

Yesterday you showed me the body ofa thrush upon the garden-path."See, it is dead!" you said.But now that we have talked together

you know that it is not really dead, butthat it has only laid aside a little coat that


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24 LITTLE BUILDERSit no longer wants, for every house is justa tiny coat.How would you like it if you alwayswore the same little threadbare coat, how-ever tight and small it grew?You couldn't wear the same one thatyou wore three years ago. Think how

you have grown since then! Why, youwould laugh if you tried to put it on!

So it is laid aside, and you have a newone which gives you plenty of room togrow.Now you see why you cannot live within

the same little body. It is because yougrow too big for it.Do you understand, I wonder?It is because when Love grows bigger

in your heart, you want a body that willnot stop you when you try to help yourbrothers: as your eyes open and you seemore of what Life means, you want a


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LITTLE BUILDERS 25body that will answer every greaterthought. . . .

If this is too difficult, you will under-stand it later on. . . .When you outwear a Body-Coatwhen

you have grown so big that it cramps andchecks your Lovea Gentle Hand un-fastens it and you step out quite quietlyand easily. This is what people callDeath.

Isn't it strange that they should befrightened to die?How silly to be afraid of anything that

is helping them to grow!But I know that you will never be

frightened, because you have learned thatthe Real You cannot die ; but that a worn-out coat is unbuttoned because it hasgrown too small. You need not fear tolose it, for you have many coats, each morebeautiful than the last, finer and more


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26 LITTLE BUILDERSwonderfully made, and in each you growa little wiser and more loving.

So when you lay aside a coat it is a signthat you are growing, and we will not besorry or sad when God takes away thecoats of those we love. . . .The reason God has said "Thou shaltnot kill/' is so that we may not tear a coattoo soon from some one who is wearing it.You would not take a coat from a littlechild that you met in the street, and leavehim to walk home without it in the cold?

I know you would not.Then you must not kill the smallest liv-

ing thing, or you will take its coat awaybefore it is ready for another.

So if you will always remember thatyour body is just a coat that you wear aslong as it is useful to you, you will havelearnt one of the very big lessons that Lifecan teach. . . .


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Ill

EVERY LITTLE THOUGHTA THINGSO YOU have come to me, to listenagain in the firelight to things thatare real and true. . . .

I wonder if you know what happenswhen you think?

I want you to understand that yourthought is part of you, and just as everythought of God's can build a flower ortree, so your thought builds itself a form,a little shape. Every time you think youare making something quite as real as ifyou built it with your hands.And listen to this ! Here is a wonderful

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28 LITTLE BUILDERSthing! When you think, you make thatthought at once.

If you build a castle on the sands, seehow slowly it grows ! If you paint a pic-ture, what a long time it takes! But thevery minute that you think, you make ashape that leaves you to float away uponthe air."Where does it go?" you ask me.Why, where do you think it can go, ex-

cept just where you want to send it? Youhave made it with your own thought-stuff,you have filled it with a piece of your veryown life, and it cannot go anywhere ofits own accord,it travels where you wish.

If you throw a ball in front of you, youknow that it cannot roll behind, so yourthought can only go the way your willdirects.Of all you think you build a copy, which

does not last for very long because it


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LITTLE BUILDERS 29changes to the shape of the next thoughtthat may come; but while it lives it is asreal a thing as any flower or tree.When you think of some one, you make

a form and fill it with your thought. Itleaves you and goes straight to find him,and either helps or hurts. An unkindthought can hurt far more than any kickor blow, because it builds up other angrythoughts within the mind it reaches. Itis such an ugly, ill-shaped thing! If youcould see it you would always stop beforeyou lost your temper, and would try tomake instead a thought of Love.Love builds a thought that looks just

like a flower with a rose-pink light insidehow wonderful to think that you havepower to build so beautiful a thing!Every time that you are unselfish you

send one of these lovely little flower-formsinto some one else's mind, and it helps him


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30 LITTLE BUILDERSto forget his own small wants, and to learnto be unselfish too."But why can't I see my thought?"I knew you would ask me that.You cannot see it because it isn't made

of the same kind of stuff as are all theearthly things. Your castles are built ofbricks or sand, and your pictures are col-oured with paint ; but your thoughts makeforms that you cannot see because they arebuilt of something that is even finer thanthe air.You cannot see the air, can you? Yet

you know that it is all around you, andthat you are always breathing it in andout of your body.Hark, how the leaves rustle, and watch

the trees sway to and fro ! You know thatit is because the wind has risen, and youdo not say that it is not there because youcannot see it. So although you may not


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LITTLE BUILDERS 31see this even finer stuff of which yourthoughts are made, yet it is every-where.Each thought that you think, then, has

a shape. It leaves you like a bubble thatyou blow from a basin of soapsuds, and itis coloured, too, according to the kind ofthought that built it. Your kind thoughtsshine like coloured lamps, but selfish onesare clouded with a dark and ugly fog.So now you will never think again that

just because you do not speak aloud anunkind thought that it can do no harm.You know now that it hurts as much asany word or deed, because it travelsstraight to harm the person who has an-gered you. It lives near* him, temptinghim to lose his temper, and to send outother angry thoughts like the one thatcame from you, and if he is unhappy ormiserable that day, it may be just the


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32 LITTLE BUILDERSstrength of your unkind thought thatmakes him angry too.So you see what a guard you ought to

place upon your thoughts, as well as onyour lips and hands.But let us suppose that you sent an

angry thought to some one whose temperwas so sunny that he couldn't be angry ifhe tried.

"It wouldn't hurt him then," you say.No, but yet it would hurt you.For if you sent that thought to him,

and he was so pure that it could not findits way into his heart, it would come backthe quickest and the shortest waytothe mind that sent it forth. It would comeback to you. It would make you angryand cross again, and drive you to buildmore unkind thoughts, to speak moreunkind words.

So, if you are wise, when a thought of


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LITTLE BUILDERS 33anger comes you will not say to yourselfthat some one else has sent it, and that itcannot be your fault if you are cross : youwill remember that perhaps it is your ownthought that has journeyed home toyou.But the black thoughts are not the only

ones that travel; there are white ones thatare stronger still. Why are they stronger,do you say?

Because LOVE builds them.When you are older you will under-

stand that no force on earth has building-power so great as Love.

If you are sorry for some one becausehe is lonely or ill, your thought fliesstraight to help him bear his trouble. Sucha radiant and lovely thought! If youcould see it you would always stop a blackone, and send him one of these instead.You must be eager to help by the power


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34 LITTLE BUILDERSof your thought, for you are old enoughnow, you know, to try.Let us think how you can begin.Perhaps you are at school, and some

one is troubled because his sums will notcome right. You can make him happier,although you cannot run across the roomto comfort him. Quickly make a thoughtof help and send it to him. It will reachhim although you do not say a word, andpresently you will see him work again withgreater courage.Perhaps Mother has a headache.Say to yourself:"I will send her a

thought of Love to make her well."You will find that Love will stroke thepain away.Perhaps a hungry child is crying in the

street.Buy her some bread if you can ; but as

you give it, wrap a thought of Love


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LITTLE BUILDERS 35around it, and you will do more than justbring comfort to her body.

Oh, never think you are too small tohelp, while thoughts have so much power.


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IVTHOUGHT-GIVING ANDTHOUGHT-GETTING

THIS morning there were angrywords, and some one cried.It grieved me, till I heard you say,

"Never mind, I'll kiss you better, just likeMother said."Then the sun shone in at my window

because I knew that you understood, andI felt that you were turning away theangry thoughts to leave more room fortender ones to grow. . . .Some day you will tell others all that

you hear from me.Not in just the same way, perhaps, for

words are only little boxes made to holdour thoughts.

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38 LITTLE BUILDERSSuppose some one gave you a box, but

when you peeped inside you found itempty! What would you do?Why, throw the box away.So, as you grow, you must learn to look

inside each box of words to find theThought within, and soon you will buildboxes of your very own to hold yourthoughts. But you won't be much use tothe world if you keep all your thoughtsfor yourself. No one will like your boxesthen or bother to peep inside!You must give them away as fast as

they come, for the more you give the moreyou get: great, fresh, strong thoughts thatwill help you to work, and to lend a handto others.

Don't be afraid to give them away, forfear that no more will come. Suppose youwent down to the sea with a pail, and triedto empty the water away!


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LITTLE BUILDERS 39That makes you laugh, for you know

that it would never grow less ; but there isjust as much thought flowing through theworld as there is water down by the shoreyou can fill your pail as full as you like,there is always plenty left.So fill it up full to the brim with

thought, for that is the way to grow.Never forget to give your thoughts to

others, for if they are selfish they liveround you like a shell. They cannottravel far away for you have fixed themon yourself, and you think the same ones,over and over again ; because the shell hasgrown so hard that the new thoughtscannot strouggle through.

If you do not break the shell by givingthoughts to some one else, people will say"How selfish he is! He thinks of noone but himself!" And their love will


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40 LITTLE BUILDERSpass you by, while yours lies sleeping inthe shell.But if you send your thoughts to others,

they will leave room for kindly ones tothrive, and the shell will melt away likesnow that feels the sun.

I think that every thought that is un-selfish makes a little peep-hole throughwhich your Real Self shines; but if youonly think of your own small doings, youwill shut each peep-hole up, and yourLamp will fail to light the outside world.What do I mean by "your Lamp," do

you ask?It is only a name for the REAL YOU,

who shines within your house.But it is not only selfishness that shuts

those peep-holes up: there is another anda sadder thing which has a greater power.It is the habit of unkindnessof FindingFault with others.


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LITTLE BUILDERS 41When you are selfish it is yourself you

harm, for you shut so much of the Greatand the Beautiful out of your life; butwhen you think or speak of other chil-dren's failings you are hurting others, too,besides yourself, for you are making iteasier for them to fail again ; you are pour-ing fresh strength into the faults you find,and thereby giving them a greater powerto grow.

If you think that some one has actedin a way that seems quite wrong to you,I want you to cease to think of it atall.

Perhaps he may not yet have done thewrong, but the wish is growing in hismind. How sad, then, if your thoughtthat blames be just enough to push himinto itThink what a wonderful thing you can

do, if you send him a thought of help so


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42 LITTLE BUILDERSstrong that it reaches the evil wish thatwas there and turns it out of his mind.

So cease to chatter about the faults ofall your friends at school, and look forsomething in them which you can praiseinstead. If you look deep enough inside,there is always something waiting for yourlove.

I want you always to seek the good inevery one, and you will be doing a beauti-ful thing,you will be helping that goodto grow. . . .When you are big, perhaps you will

think as Mother does, that the reasonGood is stronger than Evil in the world,is because God always looks at it:be-cause for Him there is no Evil, for whenit meets His Eyes it changes into Good.Evil is only something which is growinginto Good, although we may not under-stand the way by which it climbs.


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LITTLE BUILDERS 43God sees no Evil for He is All-Good,

and as we look within each thing to findthe little seed of Good it hides, nor do wegrow a little nearer to His Great All-Goodness. . . .

Now when you are thinking over allthat I have told you to-night, you willsee that it is only when your thought isstrong and clear that it can do your bid-ding, for then you fill it with so much ofyou. If you think idly, your thought canonly make itself a feeble shape with nogreat power for either good or ill.An idle thought drifts just like a little

floating cloud ; but a thought sent out witha will to serve flies like a pointed arrow.So if you want to help, send one big

thought instead of many helpless wishes,for wishes are useless in this world of ours.

"I wish! I wish! "Why, be a man, and say"I WILL!"


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HOW TO BUILD A CASTLEI HAVE often told you that you musttry to send your thoughts of help toothers, and to-night I want to show youwhy they have this claim on you.How do you start your prayers eachday?"Our Father which art in Heaven."Yet He is not your Father only, for

He is Father of all. How many otherof His children are praying that prayerto-night!You remember that I told you that we

are part of God's own Life, that no living,breathing thing exists except in Him?

Yes, you remember.Now because we share this mighty Life,

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46 LITTLE BUILDERSwe all form part of one big family, andwherever you can see the Life you knowthat you have found another brother.Think how many brothers you must

have! You couldn't count them even ifyou tried.Go for a walk, through a different town

or village each day of your life if you like,and of every one you see you can say toyourself :"HE IS MY BROTHER."And you will not be wrong.The more that you can feel that each

one is your brother, the greater is your joyin giving Love.Of course I know that it is easy when

you meet some one for whom you care.How your eyes shine as you say to your-self, so firmly and so proudly:"HE IS MY BROTHER, MYBROTHER!"


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LITTLE BUILDERS 47But it isn't always so easy to say when

you meet him in a dirty, weary body : youhave to look so deep inside to find him ina roadside tramp.Yet you would not let a brother starve

if you could find him bread,you wouldnot let a brother thirst if you could fetchhim water from a stream! I know thatyou would run for him with eager, willingfeet.But there are other things a brother

needs besides just food and drink. Hemay be hungry for your help and thirstyfor your love ; so just because it isn't breadand water that he lacks, you mustn't turnaway and let him suffer want.

Give him, then, this inner food, abrother's love, and as you try try a won-derful feeling of tenderness will growwithin your heart.

It is such happiness to think that every


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48 LITTLE BUILDERSone you meet is just your brother. Ifsome one you know is sad because he hasno one at home to share his lessons or play,you can tell him all that you have learnedto-night: that brothers and sisters waiteverywhere to share his joys and sorrows,that the whole big world is full of both,all asking for his love.

I have said that you must try to helpyour brothers, because you then gain fur-ther strength to make your thoughts oflove; but there is an even greater reasonwhich I will try to tell you now.

I would not have you drift through life,taking a pleasure when it comes and bear-ing pain as best you may, without somelittle signpost which will point the way togo. You mustn't think that you havecome here just by chance, for every detailof this world is moulded by the thought


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LITTLE BUILDERS 49of God before He puts it in HisPlan.Nothing is so small that it does not work

for Him in just the way He means, andif at first it seems to spoil His Plan hesets it back a little until it fits in better."What is His Plan?" you ask me.I can only tell you what I think : when

you are big you may find another answerin your heart.

I think His Plan is Unity,I think that He would have us part of

His Perfection. I think that He wantsto gather us so closely to Him that we canwork as one, that all our separate thoughtscan then be His Great Thinking, and allour separate loves His mighty Love.So you see that anything we do which

draws us closer to each other brings us alittle nearer to this Unity. Then are wepart of God's Great Plan, and working


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50 LITTLE BUILDERSas He wills. But when we shut our greedyhands and will not help our brothers, wework against that Plan and break its Lawsof Building.

It is as if we are building a Castle, andwe have all been given a tiny bit to finishby ourselves. No one can help us withitwe have to build alone.Now suppose that we shirk our work

and leave it rough and unfinished? Wespoil the look of that corner of the build-ing, however beautifully others build oneither side of us.What if we paint our piece of work in

a colour that clashes with all the rest? It

may be a colour of which we are fond orone that is beautiful all alone, but it isn'tin keeping here.To build a perfect Castle each must do

his share faithfully and well ; not chippingat his corner just in any way he wills, but


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LITTLE BUILDERS 51working to make the Perfect Whole thatGod has planned. . . .You see my meaning now, for I have

watched you while I spoke.You understand that though you try

to reach God's Unity, you cannot risethere if your brother lags behind. How-ever carefully you build your corner ofthe Castle, the lazy work of others spoilsit all.

What must you do?Why, lend a hand and teach them howto build!They are your Younger Brothers, and

you must guide them in their work.Point to the Castle that is growing, andshow them that they must not spoil the

Plan, and they will help a Building risethat reaches up to God.


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VI

THE JOY OF WORKDO YOU think it strange that Ishould speak to you about the Joyof Work?Have you begun to look on it as weari-

some and dull, as something to be hurriedover, so that you may go back to yourgames and play?It is time that we spoke of the Joy ofWork if this be so.Work is the Builder of Joy, because it

is the Builder of qualities which alone canbring you Joy, and therein lies its value.It is not so much the work that you dothat is of real importance, as the growthof Spirit that results from, it, for whetheryou grow strong of purpose or feeble of

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54 LITTLE BUILDERSwill depends upon the energy with whichyou labour, and not upon the kind of workthat you may do.So you must not judge a man by

whether the world has called him greator not, for some of the noblest of theworld's great men have lived and died un-noticed.The world can never build a man, he has

to build himself.

Sometimes I have heard you say, "Iwish I had something to do," yet there ifswork for every one, and if you are idleI am afraid that it is because you will notdo the work that lies ready and waiting atyour hand.If the work of a lifetime be hidden fromyou, there is always the task of to-day: itmay not be just the work you wouldchoose, but if it comes to you unsoughtyou may be sure that it is the very workof which you are in need.


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LITTLE BUILDERS 55There is no work, however humble, that

is not worth the doing, and it is alwayswise to bear in mind that if it seems weari-some or dull it is you yourself that make itso, for everything has interest if you knowthe way to find it.Every morning fix your mind on just

one thing you mean to do, and at nightlook back over your day to see if you havecarried out your purpose. If so, you maysleep with a happy heart, even if yourwork be nothing greater than the mendingof a broken toy, or the watering of yourgarden. Make up your mind to do some-thing, don't idle away your time with notrue aim or clear idea of what you mean todo, for idleness is the outcome of a lazymind and the stumbling block that lies inthe way of the Building of your PerfectSelf.Work is neither great nor small, so long

as it is needed. It has an inner spiritual


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56 LITTLE BUILDERSside and leads you to the Infinite Spiritof Good, so that even if your task be justthe digging of a ditch or the darning ofa sock, your Spirit may be climbing to theHill-tops as you work.

It is only through work that the Spiritof Good can shine through your outershell, for work is the channel throughwhich your Life-force pours; but everytime you say "Impossible" and lay asideyour tools, you block the outlet of thatforce and check its power.You must try to work for the love of

the work and not for the praise of others.Don't look up to point out the amountthat you have done ; but only pause to givea cheery word to the one who works besideyou.

I want you always to be one of thosewho gives help rather than one who claimsit: to be one of the bearers of burdens


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LITTLE BUILDERS 57rather than one who needs another's helpto bear.

If you work with a will and not byhalves, doing the simplest task earnestlyand faithfully, it will help you to sow aseed of strength in the heart of a weakerbrother, and you will make your cornerof the world a little sweeter and a littlehappier, more filled with the InfiniteSpirit of Good.There is no work that is unworthy of

the God within if it be work for the com-mon good ; there is no task so mean that isnot Spiritual and blessed if it helps thegood to grow.

If you miss greatness in your task it isbecause you have failed to see that it islinked to the work of every other humanbeing, and that every one is working at alittle part that forms a fragment of theWork of all the World.


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58 LITTLE BUILDERSSo love your work and do it joyfully,

for it shares the majesty of all great tasks,and the grandeur of all humble, simpletoil.


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VIIBROTHERS ON THE PATH

I WANT to be so sure you understandthat to help your Brothers is the Wayto Happiness. Not only just the Brotherswhom you love, but all the unknown onesas well, and even those who do you harm.

If you hurt a Brother whom you thinkyou do not love, you are hurting, too, theone you love the most of all, for the happi-ness of every one depends on that ofothers.You cannot travel on the Path which

leads to God unless you take your Broth-ers with you as you go,

There is no one who is not on this Path,but every one is walking at a differentpace. Some are almost standing still,

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60 LITTLE BUILDERSwhile more are running to and fro chasingthe butterflies and picking flowers, orchattering to each other under trees.Others are hurrying in little spurts, onlyto sit and rest between whiles ; but thereare some who walk so steadily, with theireyes fixed on the Hill that rises at theFinish of the Path.But none are journeying alone, for if

you look closely at these people you willsee that all of them are bound togetherwith little silver ropes, so fine that theylook like shining strands of frosted spiders'webs.

So what do you think must happen ifone sits down to rest?Why, yes, of coursehe drags the

others back.And suppose one walks a little faster

than his Brothers?He pulls them with him as he goes.


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LITTLE BUILDERS 61But listen! If he joins with several of

his Brothers, and they walk in a little com-pany together, there is a strength so won-derful in those little silver ropes! I wishyou could see them twisted into one greatshining strand!Do you understand this picture I havedrawn for you? I mean that if you are

lazy and waste your time, you are likethe Brothers who sit by the way to rest,and the silver ropes pull others back whoare trying to push ahead. If you makeup your mind to work one day but forgetabout it the next, I think you are like thebutterfly-catchers who hurry and rest be-tween.But if every day you say to yourself:"I will help my Brothers, and pull with

my silver ropes," you are walking then sosteadily toward the Hill.

Brothers are helping you, too, you


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62 LITTLE BUILDERSknow,Brothers in front of you on thePath: their silver ropes are pulling withever-increasing strength; but if you failand lag behind, you make the burdenheavier for their shoulders.

There are lights that glow like tinyfires upon this Path, so many that youcannot count them all, for each little trav-eller has a lamp to light his way forhim.But isn't this strange? He doesn't

carry it in his hands, for hands he needsto save his Brothers from a. fall:it isset within his forehead like a star. Withevery thought of love or friendly offeringof help it lights his steps more clearly withits tender glow.So you understand that if he rests or

runs unequally and thereby checks thespeed of all his Brothers, his star gives


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LITTLE BUILDERS 63such a dim and feeble light that the Pathseems dark and full of traps to catch un-wary feet. But as he learns to walk withfirmer purpose, it shines so brightly on thePath that he cannot miss his way, andothers near him share its soft, clear light,and gain a greater courage by itshelp.The weary little Brothers, whose feet

are saved from jagged stones and beds ofangry nettles because they walk within thecircle of his light, mark how each day thestar within him grows.

It seems as if the light no longer shinesfrom just his forehead; it seems as if hewears a shining golden coat which glistensthrough the outer earthly cover.You have seen the sun shine through

the clouds, growing at last so bright thatyou have had to turn your eyes away. Sodoes the golden coat shine brightly


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64 LITTLE BUILDERSthrough the veiling of the body, lendingits light to younger stars that as yet haveonly learnt to glimmer in the dark. . . .If we could watch the Path with the GreatEyes of God, we should see that it showsa winding course at first, lighted by theseendless little stars that glitter like a stretchof diamond frost. But as it straightensto the Hill it alters to a path of ShiningGold, for all those separate stars unite toform a Mighty Sun which wraps the Hillin Light. ...Each little star is lost in every other, yet

finds itself within the Sun of God's GreatLove. . . .Do you understand my tale of stars, andthe story I have weaved for you of Broth-

ers on the Path?I think you do.The Path is just your Life which leads

you up to God.


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LITTLE BUILDERS 65The Real You is the star which gleams

upon your forehead, the star which cannotshine through selfish wrants and wishes, butglistens like a coat of gold if your waysare Ways of Love.


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VIII

A SWORD OF SHINING POWERJUST for to-night we will not speak ofBrothers : we will not seek fresh waysto give them help:just for to-night wewill turn our thoughts to you. For youcannot show your brothers how to builda Castle unless you build within yourselfas well; you cannot give them courage totread the path of Service unless they feelthat you are strong to help."But how can I build within myself?"

you ask.You are building every minute of theday, with every thought or deed you adda little to your work; but whether youbuild a Castle Beautiful or just an ugly

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68 LITTLE BUILDERSbarn depends upon the kind of Thought-Bricks that you make, and the Will withwhich you labour.You have often watched a builder,

smoothing the mortar with his trowel as heputs each brick in place. You have a trowel,too, with which to build your Castle Walls,and you cannot work without it.Your trowel?Of course I mean your Will.It is ever in your hand, but as you learn

to use it faithfully and well, it changesfrom a builder's tool to a soldier's swordof shining power.

If you remember that it is a part ofGod's great Will, you understand thesecret of its strength.Each earthly thing can only keep its

present form because God wills : He holdsit just as long as He desires, and when Hebreaks it up He uses every piece to build


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LITTLE BUILDERS 69another shape. Nothing is wasted in Hiswork, because He builds so perfectly thatHe can find a use for all.Each little speck of dust that blows

across the road, or falls between twogrinding rocks, is moulded into otherforms. As He leaves each House itchanges into dust, but that dust He takesto build another that is filled with greaterbeauty.

Because your Will is part of His, you,too, can build with it; but only when itdoes the work that Youthe Real Youset it. It must be your trained and willingservant, your Sword of Shining Power.You would be angry if you rode a pony

that would not go the way you wished, buttook the bit between its teeth and gallopedas it liked.Yet if you cannot check your Will, and

make it do exactly what you want, it is


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70 LITTLE BUILDERSlike that little pony that will not answerto the reins.

I want you always to do a thing becausethe Real You wishes it. I want youto learn to use your Will to build yourCastle Walls.How can you train your Will to do yourbidding?Let us find first the way that it must

grow.It must grow strong, not feeble : it must

obey and not rebel: it must be firm withcourage to work on in the dark. Youmust have faith in it, and know that itcannot fail ; because you know that it is apart of God's own Will, and the means bywhich the Real You climbs a little nearerup to God.

"It must grow strong, not feeble/'How can it grow in strength?If you do not use an arm or leg, it will


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LITTLE BUILDERS 71waste away and lose all power to serveyou.

In just the same way, if you do not useyour Will, it will grow rusty and feeble,and fail you when you need it most. Sothe first thing you must do is to learn touse your Will, to give it exercises just asyou swing your clubs or drill to help yourbody to grow strong.

So here is an exercise that you can prac-tise to-morrow.

Think of one thing at a time.If you are putting on shoes, let "Shoes"

be all your thought:if you are doingyour sums, don't think of your gamesafter tea, but think of "Sums" and nothingelse until you have finished them all.To fix your mind on just one thing will

help your Will to grow. So no matterhow easy or simple your task, turn all yourthought upon it, for when little vague


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72 LITTLE BUILDERSthoughts drift through your mind youcan't do the smallest thing well. You willnever do anything great until you can dosomething small,you will never conquera kingdom until you can rule a thought.

All great things are small in beginning,the acorn grows into the oak, and thegreatest man is he who can rule his Willin the tiniest things of life.

There is another way in which we saidyour Will must grow.

"It must obey, and not rebel."So let us find an exercise to teach it to

obey.Finish a thing when once you start.Sometimes this is hard, I know.Grown-up people think so, too, unless

some one has helped them when they weresmall, as I am trying to help you now.

If you finish each thing as well as you


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LITTLE BUILDERS 73can, instead of leaving it half done becausea pleasure calls you, or because it seemstoo hard, you build a brick of perfect shapewithin your Castle Walls.Make up your mind in the morning to

do some special thing. Perhaps yourgarden is full of weeds, or some one ex-pects a letter.Weed your garden until it is neat, and

put your tools away, write your letter andfinish it off, don't leave it until to-morrow,and you will do more than tidy your gar-den or even please a friend ; you will startto fashion your Will to a Sword of Shin-ing Power.

There is one more way, remember, bywhich your Will can grow.

"It must be firm with courage to workon in the dark." That is the hardest ofall, and yet just because it is so difficult,


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74 LITTLE BUILDERSyou will find that it is the royal road bywhich your Will grows strong.

It is easy enough to work bravely onwhen things go right for you, when youcan see your Castle rising, and the sunis shining as you mould your bricks. Butit isn't so easy if dark days come, and youfind that some of your bricks aren't quitethe right shape, and they have to be thrownaway. Sometimes you have to pull yourwall down and begin to build again, andyou feel so sad at the waste of time thatyou want to lay down your trowel, andleave your Castle Building.Then is the time to be firm with cour-

age, to work on in the dark!Shape your bricks as well as you areable in those dusky days, lay them as trulystraight as the lack of light will let you:and as you labour at your work, faithfully


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LITTLE BUILDERS 75and bravely, the Hand of God will oneday lift the purple curtains of the night,and gently place within your hands aSword of Shining Power.


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IXTHE LITTLE SECRET KEYIT GREW late at our last little firesidetalk, and I had to leave so much un-said. Shall we pick up the threads to-night?Now that you know of the power that

lies in your Sword of Will, you must becareful that you do not waste or fritterit away.How can I waste my Will, do you ask?Every time that you fret because things

do not happen just in the way that youwould like, you are wasting so much Will.Let us suppose that you are going outwith some one, and you get impatient be-cause you are ready first and you find thatyou must wait,then do you fritter away

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78 LITTLE BUILDERSthe strength of your Sword of ShiningPower.Or perhaps a fly is buzzing on the

window-pane, and watching idly you for-get to work whole-heartedly : then do yousplit your thought in two, and halve itsstrength.

I think what a splendid chance you haveto train your Will if some one talks in theroom where you are learning a lessonDon't stop to grumble or to complain

that you cannot do your work, but fix yourmind firmly on your task, and when youcan work as easily in a room full of peopleas you can when you are quite alone, youwill have learnt one of the first lessons thatmust be mastered if you would grow tobe a man who does great things.You must not think that failure over

little things like these can make no differ-ence to your growth of Will, for it is the


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LITTLE BUILDERS 79little happenings that count. Big thingscome seldom in our lives, and when theydo, whether we meet them bravely orshrink from facing them depends onwhether we have trained our wills tograpple with the smallest details of a day.

It isn't the one great deed that shapesour will, but all the small forgotten actsthat serve to test and strengthen it.Think of the minutes of each hour ! We

live them one by one, yet it is the mannerof that living that gives the hour's result.Think of the hours of every day ! Upon

the action of each one depends whether theday be well or badly spent.Think of a year of life! It is built of

all those days and hours and minuteswhich seemed so small and trivial as theyslipped unnoticed by; but if the year begreat with deeds, it is because the minuteswere spent grandly too.


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80 LITTLE BUILDERSTo be worried or cross if things go

wrong means that you scatter your power,but when courage is yours 'in all you doand you have learnt "to work on in thedark/ 5 you will smile as you think ofearlier days, and wonder why you had solittle faith in the strength of your ShiningSword.To have no faith in your power to win

means that already you are half way onthe road to failure.

If you say to yourself as you start yourwork,

"This is so difficult,"you build a mountain in the way, up whichyou have to climb ; but face it bravely, andit will shrink to a little grass-strewn hill,and you will laugh to think you fearedit.Even if your task seems quite beyond

your strength, what does it matter? You


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LITTLE BUILDERS 81have been given it as a means wherebyyour Will may grow, and whether yousucceed or fail is not the point that reallymatters, as you will understand when youare big.

Work bravely on, and do the best youcan.Don't be afraid to begin over and over

again; but every time you start afresh re-memberfor this is the little secret keyto keep the thought so firmly in your mindthat success is bound to crown your work.Say to yourself,

"I can do it if I will."Put all idea of failure right away from

you, for failure comes to those who fearit. Perhaps ninety-nine times you maystart and fail, but on the morning of thehundredth time you will find a new wayto do your work, fresh thought will cometo you and will make your road so plain,


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82 LITTLE BUILDERSthat you will wonder that you could havebeen so blind those ninety-nine times be-fore.

If your Will be strong enough you arebound to win in the end. You can makeyour own future as you will, and buildyour own life. Nothing can stop yourprogress, only your own small selfnoth-ing can bar success from you, except yourthought of failure.How wonderful to think such power islying in your hands ! Yet I would ratherthat you did not use it to build entirelyfor yourself. I would like to see youchoose the better way, to watch you buildwhat happiness you can for others ratherthan yourself. Your Sword of ShiningPower will thereby grow as strong as ifyou willed for selfish gain, and you willfind a strange thing happens : for as youbuild a House of Happiness for those you


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LITTLE BUILDERS 83love, a little Secret Place of Joy will riseunnoticed close at hand for you.But if you strive for pleasures for your-

self with not a thought of giving them toothers, they will not build you Happinessor Joy; they will shut you in four prisonwalls, so thick that the Light of Brotherscannot enter in.

Like a miser you may grasp success,but though all power and riches may becounted yours, yet if you have no Brotherwith whom they can be shared you willgrow sick and weary of your treasures, andwill beat your wings against your sunlessprison walls.

It is easier to build a prison than to finda way to leave it ; it is not until your Willhas learnt to fashion a little key called"Loving Help," that you can unlock yourprison door, and pass into the Sun of Com-radeship and the Greater Joy of Giving.


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YOUR SPIRIT-SELF ANDLOWER SELFDO YOU understand, I wonder, thatyou have two separate selveswithin you? One Self that urges you todo all that you can to bring happiness andjoy to others, and another that seems pettyand small in its desires, and wrapped upin its own pleasures and pains?The self that thinks nobly and purely

is your Higher Self, who is a part ofGod's own Power and Life : the Real Youwho has been growing throughout longages of time, and who will not rest untilyou reach to Perfect Beauty.The other Self is the Self of the Body,

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80 LITTLE BUILDERSa Lower Self that is made up of all yourbeliefs and ideas which are not really trueor lasting, because they are not your ownthat you have built, but those that havebeen given to you by the thoughts of otherpeople.The Real You is the Spirit-Self that lies

deep within, so deep that you might almostwonder sometimes if it is really there, andyet it is the Self that you must learn totrust and follow, for it is the very Spiritof God.

It is a Self that can do no wrong, forevil cannot live where Spirit dwells. Itis a Self that is All Love, All Tenderness,All Joy and Peace, for it is God.

Isn't it wonderful to think that yourbody is really and truly the "Temple ofGod?" It makes you understand howpurely you should live, so that it may be a"Temple" worthy of the name.


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LITTLE BUILDERS 87I know that when you enter a church

you try to leave all your lower thoughtsoutside, because you feel that you are com-ing close to the Presence of God ; but thislittle body of yours is a greater Templethan any church of brick or stone, and youmust keep it worthy of the God whodwells within.You must remember that the Spirit-

Self of Infinite Power and Purity andStrength is not possessed by one and lack-ing in another, it is the Hidden Treasureof all.

Sometimes we cannot find it in anotherbecause his thoughts are turned towardthe wants and wishes of his Lower Self,and he has forgotten all about his Spirit-Self that is so strong in Power. Oftenyou will find that he grows tired and ill,because he is depending upon his LowerSelf: he is like a man who tries to push a


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88 LITTLE BUILDERSmotor up a hill because he does not under-stand the way to drive.Anger and Hate and Selfishness are

only a part of the Lower Self, and arequite separate from the Real True Youwhich is built of the Infinite Spirit ofGood. But every time that you try to fol-low the guiding of the Spirit-Self whoteaches Peace and Love you begin tounderstand that what you have alwayscalled yourself is not really a part of youat all, and that your everyday feelings andwishes have nothing to do with that won-derful Real You which I speak of as Your"Spirit-Self."So when you are sick and ill, or miser-

able and unhappy, I want you to remem-ber that it is only the Lower Self whichis calling so loudly: I want you to turnall your thoughts toward your Spirit-Self,and it will lift you out of your sickness and


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LITTLE BUILDERS 89smooth away your troubles, because onlygood can live where the Life of God isresting.Every thought of Love or Tenderness

is the voice of your Spirit-Self speaking,every feeling of irritation is an effort ofyour Lower Self to limit and stop you inyour growing, so you must firmly andstrongly make up your mind to shut yourears to the calling of your Lower Self, andto follow only the voice of the Spirit thatspeaks within. Many a time you may fail,but pick yourself up cheerily after everystumble, for no one has ever managed toclimb without some slipping back. If theday be far from smooth and you beginto get cross or angry, say to your-self

"I am the Spirit of Love,Love is my Spirit-Self,"

and you will find that your Lower Self


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90 LITTLE BUILDERSis quieted, and that your Spirit-Self willguide you safely through your day.You must remember, too, that while

your Lower Self lies sleeping, your Spirit-Self is working still. It cannot sleep be-cause it shares the Life of God.How can God sleep? So long ago He

made the sky, the land, the sea, and HisEyes had always watched them since. IfHe slept, all Life would slumber too untilHe stirred again.As our Spirit-Self is part of Him, it can

no more lie sleeping in our bodies thancan our life blood cease to flow until theheart stops beating. Open your eyes, andsee God's Spirit moving everywhere,God's Life that needs no sleep norrest.

I want you to be very careful of yourthoughts before you go to sleep, because


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LITTLE BUILDERS 91I think that your Spirit-Self will often actupon the last thought in your mind.Do you understand exactly what I

mean?

I mean that if you fall asleep with somewish in your mind, you tend to work forit the whole night through, and because theReal You is a Fragment of God's Spirit,you have a greater power to gain whatyou desire while your Lower Self liessleeping and cannot hamper you.So think your purest thoughts as you

lay your head upon your pillow : try to for-get your earthly wants and wishes, andmake up your mind to bring what happi-ness you can to some one who is needingboth your comfort and your love.You can reach your brothers while your

body sleeps, because to think of them willcarry you to where they are at once.


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92 LITTLE BUILDERSThought has such power within the Worldof Spirit that it can carry you to whereyou will.

Think of the happiness that you canbring to some one who is miserable to-night.

Say to yourself as you close your eyes,"I will help him with my love/'

and as your body sleeps, the Ileal Youwill spread two Wings of God and carryyou to your brother through the night.You need not fear that you will lose

your way, for there are no dark pathswhere Love is calling.

"Little sad brother," you will say, "youcannot be lonely while God is resting inyour heart and mine.

"Little sad brother, dry your eyes, andtake the Love I bring."


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XITHE BUILDING OF STRENGTHAND BEAUTY

YOU will find a verse in the Biblewhich tells you that "As a manthinketh, so is he"; and to-night I wantto show you as plainly as I can that you doreally build yourself by the power of yourmind, and that even your health andstrength and very looks depend upon theway you think.

It is your mind that really shapes yourbody, for although when you are youngan ugly, unkind thought may seem to leaveno trace behind, yet if it gives birth toothers until you are always buildingthoughts that are unworthy of your Spirit-Self, in time they will write their story so

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94 LITTLE BUILDERSplainly on your face that people will nothave to wait to hear you speak to knowthat you have no gift of Happiness tobring them.But if your thoughts are loving and un-

selfish, little Shining Messengers from theReal You within, when you are olderBeauty will speak so strongly from thetender lines of your face that people can-not fail to feel the Joy with which youbless them.

It is natural for you to turn from allthat is ugly and decayed, because plantedwithin you is the Spirit's Love of Beautyand Perfection.

If a flower be beautiful, it is because itgrows in the way that God has planned,and the Life within is shaping it until itreaches to its full-time blossoming. Thatis the way that you are meant to grow, andif your body be weak or ill, it is because


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LITTLE BUILDERS 95it is not working as the Life within wouldhave it.You know that in a lake you can see thesurrounding hills and trees mirrored in itsquiet depths, and that if a breeze rufflesthe surface of the water it blurs the beautyof the pictured hills.In just the same way, your body, which

seems so real a thing, is only the reflectionof your mind, and when it is disturbed orill it is because it is not reflecting a per-fect picture of the mind ; it is as if a littlebreeze had ruffled the quiet lake and"blurred the beauty of the pictured hills."Whether you are weak and ill, or

healthy and strong, depends upon thekind of thoughts that you allow to restwithin your mind. "Thought grows byThought." Remember that, and you willunderstand that the way to be healthy andbrave is to think of Health and Bravery,


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96 LITTLE BUILDERSand the way to be weak and ill is to fearthat weakness and ill-health may come toyou."

So learn to put every fear of pain orillness right away from you.

If you are weary with the heat anddisinclined to work, don't think to your-self, "How hot it is!I cannot do mywork" ; for such a thought will make yourbody all the weaker.

If youare tired with a long day's work,turn the thought of weariness out of yourmind and say to yourself:

"My Body is made of Strength,For My Spirit is Strong,"

and you will be filled with a wave ofstrength, and weariness will leave you.Perhaps you are afraid to enter a room

that is dark, or sometimes perhaps youwake in the night trembling at shadowsthat lie across the room.


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LITTLE BUILDERS 97"O never strike sail to a fear," as a great

man has written. Remember that "as aman thinketh, so is he," and that if youthink bravely your body will answer andbecome built upon such lines of Couragethat however dark the night or deep theshadows, no Fear or Cowardice can restwithin you.But your body will never be able to

reflect your thought until you have learntto tidy your mind.

People forget, or perhaps they have notlearnt, that if they have untidy minds theywill have untidy or unhealthy bodies too.

So that is why I say that you must learnto tidy your mind. Give up trying tothink of five or six things at once, for suchthinking is but vague and valueless andwhen reflected in your body will make youact in a hasty, undecided way.

Begin in little ways to tidy your mind


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98 LITTLE BUILDERSand body too. Is your bookshelf as neatas the first day that it was given to you,when you arranged your stock of booksso proudly and so carefully?Are your shoes put neatly away, and

can you shut your cupboard door, or isit full of rubbish?Do such things seem so small to you?

They are not so. They are reflections ofyour mind, and nothing can be small ormean which teaches your Spirit ways inwhich to grow.When you have learnt to keep your

books and your cupboard tidy and neat,you will find that you are keeping yourthoughts in order too; not letting themstray from one thing to another in anyway they will, but making the thoughtwork with the deed until the task be done.So tidy your mind, and "shut your cup-

board door." Turn out the thoughts that


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LITTLE BUILDERS 99have crept from their proper places, tomake plenty of room for better ones togrow, and you will find your mind re-flected in a body that is radiant withStrength and Beauty too.


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XII

COURAGE

IHAVE spoken to you sometimes ofthe need you have for Courage, for all

Success and Happiness depend on itspossession.Yet you must not think that I am only

speaking of the Courage that can face asudden danger. I would have you learnsuch strength of mind that fear can gainno mastery in the smallest happenings ofyour life. There is cowardice of thoughtas well as action, and if you fail when somegreat danger presses it is because youcould not meet in thought the little dailytests.Whether Courage walks with you to

help you through your day, or Fear is yourIOI


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102 LITTLE BUILDERScompanion who will ever drag you back,depends entirely on yourself, on whetheryou have learnt to be the master of yourmind so that it is always obedient to yourwill.

Unless you are the master and can un-derstand that it is Fear alone that checksand cramps your powers, you will do littlein this earthly world or in the world ofThought.

See that your store of Courage growsbigger every day: there is no need in lifeso small that you may not use it as a meanswhereby that store may grow.Put your whole mind into your work,

be determined that you cannot fail, andyou will find that you have set your feetupon a path that leads you to success ; butif you start half-heartedly, allowing athought to cross your mind that yourstrength may be unequal to your task, you


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LITTLE BUILDERS 103will sow a seed of Fear which perhaps willgrow into a weed to choke the Flower ofCourage that was planted close at hand.You must remember that all Success

or Failure depends far more upon yourthoughts of Courage or of Fear than uponany outside help that may be given you,for I have told you of the way in whichyour thought goes out to mingle withthe great Thought-Currents of theWorld.

If you work bravely and with courage,your thought calls to all the thoughts ofCourage that others are building intotheir work, and not only does it help tostrengthen them, but it gains from them anadded power to carry back to you. But ifyou work with a fear that you may fail,that fear travels as surely as did thethought of Courage until it meets thethoughts of others who are fearing too*


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104 LITTLE BUILDERSand they crowd upon you as you work,bringing failure in their train.You cannot gain Courage until you

learn to trust yourself and to depend uponyour own unaided work. Make your owndecisions, and try to find a way to dothings by yourself instead of always seek-ing help from other people. Such knowl-edge that you learn you will not easilyforget, and also you will gain confidence inyour powers, which will be of greatervalue than you think in later life.

Trust in your own small self and powerto do, and you will find that you beginto gain the trust of others, which is a verysweet and precious treasure to possess.Make up your mind that nothing can

shake your Courage, determine that Fearshall have no power to touch you, for yourthought can make or mar your work.Your Courage or Fear can win or lose


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LITTLE BUILDERS 105you all material things as well as gifts ofSpirit.

It is not lack of power that makes youfail, but lack of knowledge of the way touse the power.Why should you fear?You are a part of One Great Life, a

Sharer of the Strength that binds theworlds together, and when you have madethis thought your own and built it intoyourself, there is no limit to the power youmay possess.

Courage uplifts and bears you over thestones that lie on your pathway up toGod. It is only fear that makes youstumble and dread the roughness of theClimb.Don't be content to do only those things

which lie easily within your present power.Strike boldly out and test your strength.You can never learn to swim if you keep


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106 LITTLE BUILDERSone foot on the ground, you can neverlearn to do big things unless you risk alittle.Try to grow a little every day, facing

bravely all that comes, and if your troublespress on you, don't give Fear the powerto make them heavier. Call on yourCourage and face them as they come.

Sometimes we are afraid because wedo not meet our troubles singly, but seethem in thought all massed together inone great mountainous load, yet we mustremember that we only have to face themone by one.The Courage that you need is only just

enough to do the next thing well, so turnthe whole of your thought to the workof mastering it, and do not think of allthose other tasks which lie beyond.

All that you are asked to do is just onething at a time. This may sound easy


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LITTLE BUILDERS 107until you try, and then I think you willunderstand what a very big lesson it is thathas been given you to learn.

If while you do your present task yourthoughts are turned in doubt upon thenext succeeding one, I am afraid that youwill find that you may fail in both; forthe Secret of Success lies in the power toturn the whole of your mind upon thedoing of one thing at a time, however smallor trivial it may be, and then to pass cheer-fully and willingly to the next duty withno lingering or backward thought.Your Thought of Courage is a magnet

that can draw success to you, for it attractsothers of its kind, until you are filled witha wonderful feeling of strength, and youfind that you are drawn more and moreinto the company of those who are growingstrong too, for that saying which youknow so well, "Birds of a feather flock to-


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108 LITTLE BUILDERSgether," is based on a truth more deep thanyou may understand.While you are growing in Courage, per-haps you may meet some one who is nerv-ous or afraid.What must you do?Send him all your thoughts of Courageand wrap him in your Strength, show him

how sad a thing it is to be afraid, becauseit robs him of his power to win.

Don't be content until you have givenhim all your loving help and tender sym-pathy, for if you do so you will know thatyou are growing in the right way. Youwill know that you are not building self-ishly for yourself, because you wantgreater power or success ; but only becauseLove shines so strongly that you cannotbe happy unless you feel that you arebuilding happiness and strength for otherstoo.


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XIII

MESSENGERS OF LOVE

I THINK, that at night when you workwithin your shining Spirit-body, onlythose whose earthly bodies are asleep cansee you as you pass, except just now andthen it happens that the Spirit Eyes ofsome one who is still awake look, for amoment, through the earthly coverings.Then perhaps he says that an angel or

a messenger from God appeared to him,because he saw the shining of the Spirit,and failed to understand that while theearthly bodies he asleep we all are walkingin our angel clothes.He is wiser than he knows, for we are

all angels, only some of us are lesser ones109


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110 LITTLE BUILDERSthan others: we are all messengers fromGod, although we may forget the messageHe has trusted us to carry."The message/' do you ask?I think the message He would have us

bring is LOVE, and every time we bearit to our brothers, we are His messengersof Shining Light. It is only the blindnessof our earth-filled eyes that makes us failto see the Angel in each brother whom wemeet.When those we love have laid aside their

earthly coats and are what the world calls"dead," we speak of them as Angels, yetthey were Angels just as much before. Itwas only that we could not see the shiningof their Spirits, because the earthly coatslay in between.

I want you always to remember to lookinside the coat until you see the Angel'sLight within, for an angel is only some


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LITTLE BUILDERS 111one who is learning to bring God's messageto his brothers.Each Angel in his turn is helped by

others who are nearer God, and they aswell are guided by a Greater One above.There is no one, however frail or full ofsin, no one however strong and pure ofheart, who has no Guardian Angel toshelter him with wings of love.

I think that if two people love, it isbecause their Angels have seen and lovedeach other first, and a picture of their lovereflects within the hearts of the childrenwhom they guard. So if you quarrel withthe one you love, I fear you raise a veil ofmist between two Angels' faces.Mist, grey mist of quarrelling and hateBlow it away with a tender breath of Loveand let the Sunlight of their Joy be yours.

Just as an Angel guards each one of us


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112 LITTLE BUILDERSwith loving, watchful care, so I think thata little spirit watches over every flower andtree, who grieves when the flower istrampled on, or when the tree is rootedfrom the ground.

I fancy that the little guardian paintseach petal of a rose ; perhaps she lays hercolour in the heart at eventide, and leavesit through the summer night, until the ten-der dew washes the rosy stain throughoutthe opened petals.

I love to think that every little peep ofgreen is watched by guardian spirits.What though you cannot see them?

They are there!Little Spirit-Children who teach the

acorn how to shoot, and guide the tenderrootlets till they bore strong tunnelsthrough the earth, tiny sprites who whis-per to the growing trees when budding-time draws near, pixies of the grassy


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LITTLE BUILDERS 113glades, elves of the mountain forests andfays of dancing streams and silver brooks.Perhaps you may be told that spirit-

elves can have no real existence, that talesof fairies are not really true; but if youlike to think that every little growingflower is cared for by some .tender sprite,you may remember that I love to thinkso too.


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XIVBY LOVE WE SERVE

TO-NIGHT I want to speak of some-thing that may seem at first so simpleand easy to understand that perhaps you

will wonder why I have chosen it for oneof our evening talks.But when I have finished I think that

you will understand.I want to speak of Friendship and the

Service it demands, and to show you thatit is so precious and so real a thing thatyou must learn to treasure it as a tenderflower that grows from God's own seed.By Friendship I do not mean the ordi-nary friendliness you feel for boys andgirls with whom you work or play. I meana rarer, deeper feeling of the heart,

us


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116 LITTLE BUILDERSIf when you meet a friend, something

inside you seems to rise and sing, just asthe lark upon the common yesterday roseat our feet and trilled its way to God, thatis a call from some one for your love.Have you wondered sometimes why it

is that you love one person, and yet passanother by?

I think it is because you have known himin an earlier life than this; perhaps youmay have helped him through some troublein days of long ago, and though your mem-ory is clouded, yet the Love is clear.For Love is a flower that cannot die,

because God plants it in your heart : eachlife it blossoms as a rose-tree buds whenSpring awakes it from the winter sleep.You pass so many lives upon this dear,

sweet earthI have told you often thatthe Real You cannot dieyou would notlike to think you only came here once?


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LITTLE BUILDERS 117All your real true friends are people

whom you loved and helped in many livesnow past, and every happiness that theymay bring you grows from Joy you gavethem long ago.

If you should meet an enemy who doesyou harm, remember that you must havehurt him in the past, and that it is yourown unkindness coming back to you. Butever be ready to forgive, and you willmake of him a friend instead, for he cannotfrown for long within the sunshine of yourlove, and I think you understand that ifyou win him as your friend, he will loveyou in another life as well as this.

It is easy enough to find a friend, butit is no simple thing to keep him after-wards, unless you bind him to you withsilken threads of Love and willing Service.You will find, I think, that you cannot

choose your friends, the real, true ones,


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118 LITTLE BUILDERSI mean. They are drawn to you as surelyas steel is drawn toward a magnet, andjust as all that is not really steel lies coldand lifeless to the magnet's call, so all whocannot answer to the Call of Service arenot really of the Company of Friends.

"Service" is the Password that everyone must learn to meet the sentry's chal-lenge: Service alone calls forth the quietwelcoming "Pass, Friend" that greets an-other member of the army which heguards.When I speak of Service, I do not mean

that you must watch for some great deedthat needs performing, or you may findthat while you watched you failed to dothe many little acts of Service whichunited are of greater worth.Do the duty that is waiting close at

hand, with not a thought of whether it begreat or small: put your whole mind into


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LITTLE BUILDERS 119it that you may do it just as well as youare able, so that when some day a largercall for Service comes which needs all yourWill and Courage to perform, you canrise and face it like a man, because youlearnt to give the best you had in thesmaller Service of the past.Make yourself fit to serve, and God will

send the work for you to do: if it seemhard you must be proud to think that Hehas found that you have power to do sodifficult a task, and if you fail, rememberth

Documents

Ralph Waldo Trine - Little Builders, New Thought Talk to Children (1916)