Just Be Glad, Part 2
by Christian D. Larson
«— Part One || Part Two || Part Three —»
Be glad for the things you have, and you will find you have far more than you thought. Then you will not miss, in the least, the things you have not. Besides, the happier you are over what has come to you, the more and the more will come to you in the future. This is indeed a great secret, and if universally applied would cause want to disappear from the face of the whole earth.
Be glad, for nothing is as serious as it seems to be. Then remember that sunshine can banish any gloom; and you can create in yourself all the sunshine you need; so just be glad.
When trouble and misfortunes surround you, just be glad. The glad heart and the cheerful soul always make things better. It is the happy heart that has the most courage; it is the joyous soul that has the greatest power; and it is the presence of sunshine that keeps darkness and gloom away.
When things go wrong, do not become disheartened; it is much easier to set them right when your soul is full of sunshine; so just be glad. It is the best way out.
When all seems lost, remember that it requires strength to regain everything; and it is the glad heart that remains strong. When the heart saddens, weakness will overtake you, and it will not be possible to regain your position. So therefore be glad regardless of what may transpire. It is one of the royal paths to everything that life holds dear.
But sadness does not merely bring weakness, it also brings illness, and age, and it shortens the length of our days. In gladness, however, there is health and youth, strength and longevity. The glad heart will not grow old, nor can illness ever enter where the spirit of joy is supreme.
When in pain, be glad; and you can. Be glad that you are greater than pain. Be glad that pain has come to prevent you from going wrong. Be glad that you can prevent all pain in the future. And be glad that it is wholly impossible for pain to come any more after gladness has become the rule of your life.
For your own advancement, be glad. The spirit of joy is the spirit that makes the heart kind, the soul strong and the mind brilliant. It is this spirit that makes for greatness, for nobleness, for excellence, for worth. We repeat it, therefore, just be glad.
Would you be a pleasure and a delight to others, then be glad always.
And would you add to the measure of your own joy, then give all the joy you can to the largest possible number. This you can do by living more and more in the spirit of that joy that is in itself the essence of real joy. And it is better to become the living incarnation of this spirit than to possess all the wealth in the world. It is better to have attained to perpetual gladness than to have become the crowned monarch of an entire solar system. The reason is simple. The glad heart is the sunshine of all life, a benediction to every man, a perpetual blessing to everything in creation.
Inspire every atom in your own being to thrill with the spirit of joy; not the joy of sentiment, but the joy of strength, of triumph, of victory — the joy that inwardly feels its power sublime as the soul ascends in masterful mien to the splendor of empyrean heights. It is such a joy that makes life a power, a blessing, an inspiration. And it is such a joy that comes perpetually to him who causes his soul to repeat again and again, that sweet reassuring refrain—just be glad.
Sing ever the song of triumph, of victory, of freedom—the song that declares the supremacy of the spirit over all that may be temporal or wrong. Sing the song of the soul rising above adversity or loss, proclaiming its freedom over all that is or is to be. When the soul continues to sing in this triumphant manner, all the elements of life follow the music of that which is always well; and in such a spirit everything must be always well.
Be glad, and smile with the smile that is sincere, the smile that shines just as sweetly and as naturally as the sunbeam. It is such a smile that is a smile indeed; it is such a smile that comes from the soul—from the soul that is ever singing—just be glad. And how soon such a smile can changethe world.
Meet adversity with such a smile; charm away tribulation with such a smile bursting forth into song; and let the music of the soul restore peace, love and harmony where these might have been absent. Then be stronger than adversity; rise superior to tribulation, and know that you are infinitely greater than all that is unfortunate or wrong.
In the midst of adversity combine strength with rejoicing, and fate must change. Before that music of the soul that is so high and so strong that it stirs the depth of every soul, all the world pays homage on a bended knee. And wisely, because such a power can change anything, transform anything, elevate anything, emancipate anything.
Go forth therefore into life with strength in your soul and music in your soul, and the future shall steadily and surely shape itself to comply with your dearest wishes and your highest aspirations. Array yourself in the strength of truth, conviction, courage, faith, resolution, victory and triumph; and add to these another raiment—the music of gladness—and yours will be a life rilled with glory, power and light.
The spirit of gladness when combined with the spirit of strength, will enlarge the mind, expand the soul, and enrich all thought and life ; it is the moving mystery from within that makes everything good in human nature grow; that makes man noble and great ; that makes human existence a world of immeasurable richness and sublime worth. It is the same spirit that makes life "a thing of beauty and a joy forever;" that makes the lovely and the true become the tangible the real; that causes all things we have loved do much come forth into our world in abundance. Therefore be glad when you feel strong, and be strong with you feel glad; and always know that you can.
Whatever your present posicition may be, there is a way from where you now stand that leads to better things and greater things for you than you ever knew. So whatever happens, just be glad. Live in the spirit of gladness; think in the spirit of joy; thus you will be able to see the royal path, for the mind that is illuminated with gladness is never in the dark, never under the clouds of doubt or dismay.
When overtaken with calamity or tribulation, come forth undaunted and undismayed. Inspire the soul to reach for the high realms of victory and joy; and hold fast to that lofty position even though the whole world seem to disappear beneath your feet. With such a victory for your strong inspiration, your own soul will prove more than sufficient for all that life may demand of you.
Then remember that mankind stands ready to welcome and exalt every soul whose strength is greater than any circumstance, whose joy is greater than any tribulation, and whose faith is greater than all doubts and failures in the world.
When your plans cannot be carried through at present, do not feel downcast or discouraged. Just be glad. Give gladness to your mind and you give clearness to your mind; and a clear mind can see how to evolve better plans.
When your dreams do not come true and your ideals do not become real, refuse to be sad or disconsolate. Instead, rejoice with great joy to know that you are greater than your dreams, and wholly sufficient unto yourself regardless of what may transpire in the real or the ideal. Thus you will give expression to that greater power within you which surely can make your ideals real and make all your dreams come true.
Prove that your cherished dreams are not necessary to your happiness, and all of those dreams will come true. Prove that you do not need the things you want, and you will get them, provided of course that you give all that is in you to the life you live. Prove that you already are sufficient in yourself, and have sufficient in the richness of your own world, and more and more will gather for you, both in the within and in the without. It is much gathering more ; much in the within gathering more everywhere; it is your own strength inspiring all things to come with strength; it is the spirit of the great life aroused in yourself causing all things of greatness and worth to come and gather in the entire world of your own life. And it is in this spirit that we live and move and have our being, when the soul continues to sing that sweet reassuring refrain — just be glad.
Whatever may be, therefore, or come to pass, continue in the spirit of this refrain. For to live in the music of such a refrain is to enjoy life infinitely more than it was ever enjoyed before. And that in itself is much indeed. Besides, be glad whatever happens, and something better will happen. When the good happens, let the soul sing with rejoicing; then greater good will happen, and there will be cause for greater rejoicing. When that which is not good happens, let the soul sing in the same triumphant spirit, and the power of that spirit will cause all ills to vanish as darkness before the glory of the morn.
Remove the cause of sadness by giving all the elements of life to the spirit of joy. Smile away the darkness and the gloom; sing away the discord and the pain; banish tribulation with rejoicing; then you may in truth be joyous and be glad; and every hour of your long and triumphant life will add new evidence to that great inspiring statement — all things respond to the call of rejoicing; all things gather where life is a song.