The Individual Perspective

Important as the matter of your point of view for the facts of social life is, it is of less moment than your viewpoint for your fellow men, for your acquaintances, friends, relatives, your immediate family, and, most of all, yourself. You must learn not to look upon the world as a lost and decaying thing but as a something perfect and glorious which is going on to a most beautiful completeness; and you must learn to see men and women not as lost and accursed things, but as perfect beings advancing to become complete. There are no “bad” or “evil” people. An engine which is on the rails pulling a heavy train is perfect after its kind, and it is good. The power of steam which drives it is good. Let a broken rail throw the engine into the ditch, and it does not become bad or evil by being so displaced; it is a perfectly good engine, but off the track. The power of steam which drives it into the ditch and wrecks it is not evil, but a perfectly good power. So that which is misplaced or applied in an incomplete or partial way is not evil. There are no evil people; there are perfectly good people who are off the track, but they do not need condemnation or punishment; they only need to get upon the rails again.

Your view of social life is important. But your view of other people matters even more. This includes your acquaintances, friends, relatives, immediate family, and, most of all, yourself. You must learn not to see the world as lost and decaying. Instead, see it as perfect and glorious, moving toward a beautiful state of completeness. And you must learn to see men and women not as lost and cursed, but as perfect beings becoming complete. There are no “bad” or “evil” people. An engine pulling a heavy train along the rails is perfect for what it is, and it is good. The steam power driving the engine is good. If a broken rail throws the engine into a ditch, the engine does not become bad or evil. It is still a perfectly good engine, but it is off the track. The steam power that drives the engine into the ditch and wrecks it is not evil either. It is perfectly good power. So something misplaced or used in an incomplete or partial way is not evil. There are no evil people. There are perfectly good people who are off the track, but they do not need condemnation or punishment. They only need to get back on the rails.

That which is undeveloped or incomplete often appears to us as evil because of the way we have trained ourselves to think. The root of a bulb which shall produce a white lily is an unsightly thing; one might look upon it with disgust. But how foolish we should be to condemn the bulb for its appearance when we know the lily is within it. The root is perfect after its kind; it is a perfect but incomplete lily, and so we must learn to look upon every man and woman, no matter how unlovely in outward manifestation; they are perfect in their stage of being and they are becoming complete. Behold, it is all very good.

What is undeveloped or incomplete often seems evil to us because of how we have trained ourselves to think. The root of a bulb that will produce a white lily is ugly. We might look at the root with disgust. But how foolish we would be to condemn the bulb’s appearance when we know the lily is inside. The root is perfect for what it is. It is a perfect but incomplete lily. So we must learn to see every man and woman in the same way, however unattractive they appear outwardly. They are perfect at their stage of development, and they are becoming complete. Look, it is all very good.

Once we come into a comprehension of this fact and arrive at this point of view, we lose all desire to find fault with people, to judge them, criticise them, or condemn them. We no longer work as those who are saving lost souls, but as those who are among the angels, working out the completion of a glorious heaven. We are born of the spirit and we see the kingdom of God. We no longer see men as trees walking, but our vision is complete. We have nothing but good words to say. It is all good; a great and glorious humanity coming to completeness. And in our association with men this puts us into an expansive and enlarging attitude of mind; we see them as great beings and we begin to deal with them and their affairs in a great way. But if we fall to the other point of view and see a lost and degenerate race we shrink into the contracting mind; and our dealings with men and their affairs will be in a small and contracted way. Remember to hold steadily to this point of view; if you do you cannot fail to begin at once to deal with your acquaintances and neighbors and with your own family as a great personality deals with men. This same viewpoint must be the one from which you regard yourself. You must always see yourself as a great advancing soul. Learn to say: “There is THAT in me of which I am made, which knows no imperfection, weakness, or sickness. The world is incomplete, but God in my own consciousness is both perfect and complete. Nothing can be wrong but my own personal attitude, and my own personal attitude can be wrong only when I disobey THAT which is within. I am a perfect manifestation of God so far as I have gone, and I will press on to be complete. I will trust and not be afraid.” When you are able to say this understandingly you will have lost all fear and you will be far advanced upon the road to the development of a great and powerful personality.

Once we understand this fact and adopt this viewpoint, we lose all desire to find fault with people. We no longer want to judge, criticize, or condemn them. We no longer work as people saving lost souls. Instead, we work as people among the angels, helping to complete a glorious heaven. We are born of the spirit, and we see the kingdom of God. We no longer see people indistinctly, like trees walking. Our vision is now clear and complete. We have nothing but good words to say. It is all good: a great and glorious humanity becoming complete. This view gives us an open and growing mindset in our relationships with others. We see them as great beings and begin to handle our relationships and their affairs with greatness. But if we adopt the opposite viewpoint and see a lost and degenerate race, our minds become narrow. Then we will deal with people and their affairs in small and narrow ways. Remember to hold firmly to this viewpoint of humanity's greatness. If you do, you are certain to begin treating your acquaintances, neighbors, and family as a great person treats others. You must view yourself in the same way. You must always see yourself as a great soul moving forward. Learn to say: “There is THAT within me from which I am made. It knows no imperfection, weakness, or sickness. The world is incomplete, but God in my own consciousness is both perfect and complete. Nothing can be wrong except my own attitude. My attitude can be wrong only when I disobey THAT within me. I am a perfect expression of God as far as I have developed. I will keep moving forward until I am complete. I will trust and not be afraid.” When you can say these words with understanding, you will have lost all fear. You will be well on your way to developing a great and powerful personality.