Visions and Ideals

THE dreamers are the saviours of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and know.

Dreamers are the saviors of the world. Just as the visible world is sustained by the invisible, people are sustained by their solitary dreamers’ beautiful visions. These visions nourish people through all their hardships, sins, and degrading work. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers. It cannot let their ideals fade and die. Humanity lives in these ideals and knows them as the realities it will one day see and understand.

Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, labouring humanity would perish.

Composers, sculptors, painters, poets, prophets, and wise thinkers create the world to come. They are the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived. Without them, struggling humanity would die.

He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Columbus cherished a vision of another world, and he discovered it; Copernicus fostered the vision of a multiplicity of worlds and a wider universe, and he revealed it; Buddha beheld the vision of a spiritual world of stainless beauty and perfect peace, and he entered into it.

Anyone who holds a beautiful vision or a high ideal in their heart will one day make it real. Columbus held a vision of another world, and he discovered it. Copernicus imagined many worlds and a wider universe, and he revealed them. Buddha envisioned a spiritual world of pure beauty and perfect peace, and he entered that world.

Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all, heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.

Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that takes shape in your mind. Cherish the loveliness that surrounds your purest thoughts. From these will grow all delightful conditions and all heavenly surroundings. If you stay true to these visions, ideals, and thoughts, your world will finally be built from them.

To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to, achieve. Shall man's basest desires receive the fullest measure of gratification, and his purest aspirations starve for lack of sustenance? Such is not the Law: such a condition of things can never obtain: "ask and receive."

To desire is to obtain. To aspire is to achieve. Should a person's lowest desires be fully satisfied while their purest aspirations starve for lack of nourishment? That is not the Law. Such a state of affairs can never exist: "ask and receive."

Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.

Dream big dreams, and as you dream, so you will become. Your vision is the promise of who you will one day be. Your ideal predicts what you will finally reveal.

The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.

The greatest achievement began as a dream and remained a dream for a time. The oak sleeps in the acorn. The bird waits in the egg. And in the soul’s highest vision, an angel begins to wake. Dreams are the seedlings of reality.

Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you but perceive an Ideal and strive to reach it. You cannot travel within and stand still without. Here is a youth hard pressed by poverty and labour; confined long hours in an unhealthy workshop; unschooled, and lacking all the arts of refinement. But he dreams of better things; he thinks of intelligence, of refinement, of grace and beauty. He conceives of, mentally builds up, an ideal condition of life; the vision of a wider liberty and a larger scope takes possession of him; unrest urges him to action, and he utilizes all his spare time and means, small though they are, to the development of his latent powers and resources. Very soon so altered has his mind become that the workshop can no longer hold him. It has become so out of harmony with his mentality that it falls out of his life as a garment is cast aside, and, with the growth of opportunities, which fit the scope of his expanding powers, he passes out of it forever. Years later we see this youth as a full-grown man. We find him a master of certain forces of the mind, which he wields with worldwide influence and almost unequalled power. In his hands he holds the cords of gigantic responsibilities; he speaks, and lo, lives are changed; men and women hang upon his words and remould their characters, and, sunlike, he becomes the fixed and luminous centre round which innumerable destinies revolve. He has realized the Vision of his youth. He has become one with his Ideal.

Your circumstances may be unpleasant, but they will not stay that way for long if you see an Ideal and work toward it. You cannot move forward within and stand still without. Here is a young man weighed down by poverty and hard work. He spends long hours in an unhealthy workshop. He has no schooling and none of the skills or manners of a cultured life. But he dreams of better things. He thinks of intelligence, culture, grace, and beauty. He imagines and builds in his mind an ideal way of life. A vision of greater freedom and wider possibilities takes hold of him. His restlessness drives him to act. He uses all his spare time and resources, however limited, to develop his hidden abilities and strengths. Soon his mind has changed so much that the workshop can no longer hold him. The workshop no longer fits his way of thinking, so it drops out of his life like discarded clothing. As opportunities grow to match his expanding abilities, he leaves the workshop behind forever. Years later, we see this young man fully grown. He has mastered certain powers of the mind and uses them with worldwide influence and almost unmatched power. He holds enormous responsibilities in his hands. He speaks, and lives change. Men and women hang on his words and reshape their characters. Like the sun, he becomes the steady, shining center around which countless destinies revolve. He has fulfilled the Vision of his youth. He has become one with his Ideal.

And you, too, youthful reader, will realize the Vision (not the idle wish) of your heart, be it base or beautiful, or a mixture of both, for you will always gravitate toward that which you, secretly, most love. Into your hands will be placed the exact results of your own thoughts; you will receive that which you earn; no more, no less. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your Vision, your Ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration: in the beautiful words of Stanton Kirkham Davis, "You may be keeping accounts, and presently you shall walk out of the door that for so long has seemed to you the barrier of your ideals, and shall find yourself before an audience—the pen still behind your ear, the ink stains on your fingers and then and there shall pour out the torrent of your inspiration. You may be driving sheep, and you shall wander to the city-bucolic and open-mouthed; shall wander under the intrepid guidance of the spirit into the studio of the master, and after a time he shall say, 'I have nothing more to teach you.' And now you have become the master, who did so recently dream of great things while driving sheep. You shall lay down the saw and the plane to take upon yourself the regeneration of the world."

And you too, young reader, will achieve the vision of your heart (not just an idle wish). That vision may be base or beautiful, or a mixture of both. For you will always move toward what you secretly love most. You will receive the exact results of your own thoughts. You will get what you earn, no more, no less. Whatever your current surroundings, you will fall, stay where you are, or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as the desire that controls you, or as great as your strongest aspiration. In the beautiful words of Stanton Kirkham Davis, "You may be keeping accounts, and soon you will walk through the door that has long seemed to block your ideals. You will find yourself before an audience, with the pen still behind your ear and ink stains on your fingers. Then and there, you will pour out a torrent of inspiration. You may be herding sheep, and you will wander into the city, a country person staring in wonder. Boldly guided by the spirit, you will wander into the studio of the master. After a time, he will say, 'I have nothing more to teach you.' And now you have become the master, though so recently you dreamed of great things while herding sheep. You will put down the saw and the plane to take on the task of renewing the world."

The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, "How lucky he is!" Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, "How highly favoured he is!" And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, they remark, "How chance aids him at every turn!" They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the Vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and call it "luck". They do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it "good fortune," do not understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it chance.

Thoughtless, ignorant, and lazy people see only the outward results, not what produces them. They talk of luck, fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, "How lucky he is!" Watching another develop his intellect, they exclaim, "How highly favored he is!" Noticing another man's saintly character and wide influence, they remark, "How chance helps him at every turn!" They do not see the trials, failures, and struggles these men willingly faced to gain experience. They know nothing of the sacrifices these men made, their fearless efforts, or the faith they held onto. These men did all this to overcome what seemed impossible and achieve the vision in their hearts. The observers do not know the darkness and heartache. They see only the light and joy, and call it "luck". They do not see the long, difficult journey, but only the pleasant destination, and call it "good fortune,". They do not understand the process, but see only the result, and call it chance.

In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. Gifts, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized.

In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results. The strength of the effort determines the size of the result. There is no chance. Gifts, abilities, and material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort. They are thoughts made real, goals achieved, and visions fulfilled.

The Vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart—this you will build your life by, this you will become.

The vision you cherish in your mind and the ideal you hold highest in your heart will shape your life. You will become that vision and ideal.