Upfront, I need to admit that I have never read William James' "The Varieties of Religious Experience" in toto. However, the quoted part below is the basis of my still more spiritual growth, the path I walk toward all I hold near and dear, the perfection of which is beyond my reach. For which I am grateful...my ever-necessary attempts keep me heading in the right direction...away from self.
For to ponder:
Since victory and defeat there must be, the victory to be philosophically prayed for is that of the more inclusive side, - of the side which even in the hour of triumph will to some degree do justice to the ideal in which the vanquished party’s interests lay.
The course of history is nothing but the story of men’s struggles from generation to generation to find the more and more inclusive order.
Invent some manner of realizing your own ideals which will also satisfy the alien demands, - that and that only is the path of peace! -- From "The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James (1842-1910)
If God did not love me so much, that originally would not have made a lick of sense to me. I simply would have forgotten it until it came to me again, no doubt much later, and probably in a different form. This I know: My need was such, and God does love me so much, the message would have come to me.
I've read it off and on for years now, and I admit it makes broader sense to me every time I read it.
The great good news is there is no end to inventing some manner of realizing our own ideals which will also satisfy the alien [his/her/their] demands.
God loves us so much.
Thank you.
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