New Thought Pastels

Part 1

Transcribed from the 1906 Elizabeth Towne edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

NEW THOUGHT PASTELS

—BY—

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX

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Published by

ELIZABETH TOWNE HOLYOKE, MASS.

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Copyright 1906

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX

INDEX.

A Dialogue 9 The Weed 11 Strength 12 Affirm 13 The Chosen 14 The Nameless 16 The Word 17 Assistance 19 Credulity 20 Consciousness 21 The Structure 22 Our Souls 23 The Law 24 Knowledge 25 Give 27 Perfection 29 Fear 30 The Way 31 Understood 32 His Mansion 33 Effect 34 Three Things 35 Obstacles 36 Prayer 37 Climbing 38 “There Is No Death, There Are No Dead” 39 Realization 41

A Dialogue.

Mortal.

THE world is full of selfishness and greed. Lord, I would lave its sin.

Spirit.

Yea, mortal, earth of thy good help has need. Go cleanse thyself within.

Mortal.

Mine ear is hurt by harsh and evil speech. I would reform men’s ways.

Spirit.

There is but one convincing way to teach. Speak thou but words of praise.

Mortal.

On every hand is wretchedness and grief, Despondency and fear. Lord, I would give my fellow men relief.

Spirit.

Be, then, all hope, all cheer.

Mortal.

Lord, I look outward and grow sick at heart, Such need of change I see.

Spirit.

Part 2

Mortal, look in. Do thy allotted part, And leave the rest to ME.

The Weed.

A WEED is but an unloved flower! Go dig, and prune, and guide, and wait, Until it learns its high estate, And glorifies some bower. A weed is but an unloved flower!

All sin is virtue unevolved, Release the angel from the clod— Go love thy brother up to God. Behold each problem solved. All sin is virtue unevolved.

Strength.

WHO is the strong? Not he who puts to test His sinews with the strong and proves the best; But he who dwells where weaklings congregate, And never lets his splendid strength abate.

Who is the good? Not he who walks each day With moral men along the high, clean way; But he who jostles gilded sin and shame, Yet will not sell his honor or his name.

Who is the wise? Not he who from the start With Wisdom’s followers has taken part; But he who looks in Folly’s tempting eyes, And turns away, perceiving her disguise.

Who is serene? Not he who flees his kind, Some mountain fastness, or some cave to find; But he who in the city’s noisiest scene, Keeps calm within—he only is serene.

Affirm.

BODY and mind, and spirit, all combine To make the Creature, human and divine.

Of this great trinity no part deny. Affirm, affirm, the Great Eternal I.

Affirm the body, beautiful and whole, The earth-expression of immortal soul.

Affirm the mind, the messenger of the hour, To speed between thee and the source of power.

Affirm the spirit, the Eternal I— Of this great trinity no part deny.

The Chosen.

THEY stood before the Angel at the gate; The Angel asked: “Why should you enter in?” One said: “On earth my place was high and great;” And one: “I warned my fellow-men from sin;” Another: “I was teacher of the faith; I scorned my life and lived in love with death.”

And one stood silent. “Speak!” the Angel said; “What earthly deed has sent you here today?” “Alas! I did but follow where they led,” He answered sadly: “I had lost my way— So new the country, and so strange my flight; I only sought for guidance and for light.”

“You have no passport?” “None,” the answer came. “I loved the earth, tho’ lowly was my lot. I strove to keep my record free from blame, And make a heaven about my humble spot. A narrow life; I see it now, too late; So, Angel, drive me from the heavenly gate.”

The Angel swung the portal wide and free, And took the sorrowing stranger by the hand. “Nay, you alone,” he said, “shall come with me, Of all this waiting and insistent band. Of what God gave, you built your paradise; Behold your mansion waiting in the skies.”

The Nameless.

UNNUMBERED gods may unremembered die; A thousand creeds may perish and pass by; Yet do I lift mine eyes to ONE on high.

Unnamed be HE from whom creation came; There is no word whereby to speak His name But petty men have mouthed it into shame.

I lift mine eyes, and with a river’s force My love’s full tide goes sweeping on its course To that supreme and all embracing Source.

Then back through all those thirsting channels roll The mighty billows of the Over Soul. And I am He, the portion and the Whole.

As little streams before the flood tide flee, As rivers vanish to become the sea, The I exists no more, for I AM HE.

The Word.

OH, a word is a gem, or a stone, or a song, Or a flame, or a two-edged sword; Or a rose in bloom, or a sweet perfume, Or a drop of gall, is a word.

Part 3

You may choose your word like a connoisseur, And polish it up with art, But the word that sways, and stirs, and stays, Is the word that comes from the heart.

You may work on your word a thousand weeks, But it will not glow like one That all unsought, leaps forth white hot, When the fountains of feeling run.

You may hammer away on the anvil of thought, And fashion your word with care, But unless you are stirred to the depths, that word Shall die on the empty air.

For the word that comes from the brain alone, Alone to the brain will speed; But the word that sways, and stirs, and stays, Oh! that is the word men heed.

Assistance.

LEAN on no mortal, Love, and serve; (For service is love’s complement), But it was never God’s intent, Your spirit from its path should swerve, To gain another’s point of view. As well might Jupiter, or Mars Go seeking help from other stars, Instead of sweeping ON, as you. Look to the Great Eternal Cause And not to any man, for light. Look in; and learn the wrong, and right, From your own soul’s unwritten laws. And when you question, or demur, Let Love be your Interpreter.

“Credulity.”

IF fallacies, come knocking at my door, I’d rather feed, and shelter full a score, Than hide behind the black portcullis, doubt, And run the risk of barring one Truth out.

And if pretention for a time deceive, And prove me one too ready to believe, Far less my shame, than if by stubborn act, I brand as lie, some great colossal Fact.

On my soul’s door, the latch-string hangs outside; Within, the lighted candle. Let me guide Some errant follies, on their wandering way, Rather, than Wisdom give no welcoming ray.

Consciousness.

GOD, what a glory, is this consciousness, Of life on life, that comes to those who seek! Nor would I, if I might, to others speak, The fullness of that knowledge. It can bless, Only the eager souls, that willing, press Along the mountain passes, to the peak. Not to the dull, the doubting, or the weak, Will Truth explain, or Mystery confess.

Not to the curious or impatient soul That in the start, demands the end be shown, And at each step, stops waiting for a sign; But to the tireless toiler toward the goal, Shall the great miracles of God be known And life revealed, immortal and divine.

The Structure.

UPON the wreckage of thy yesterday Design the structure of tomorrow. Lay Strong corner stones of purpose, and prepare Great blocks of wisdom, cut from past despair. Shape mighty pillars of resolve, to set Deep in the tear-wet mortar of regret. Work on with patience. Though thy toil be slow, Yet day by day the edifice shall grow. Believe in God—in thine own self believe. All that thou hast desired thou shalt achieve.

Our Souls.

OUR souls should be vessels receiving The waters of love for relieving The sorrows of men.

For here lies the pleasure of living: In taking God’s bounties, and giving The gifts back again.

The Law.

WHEN the great universe was wrought To might and majesty from naught, The all creative force was— Thought.

That force is thine. Though desolate The way may seem, command thy fate. Send forth thy thought— Create—Create!

Knowledge.

WOULD you believe in Presences Unseen— In life beyond this earthly life? BE STILL: Be stiller yet; and listen. Set the screen Of silence at the portal of your will. Relax, and let the world go by unheard. And seal your lips with some all-sacred word.

Breathe “God,” in any tongue—it means the same; LOVE ABSOLUTE: Think, feel, absorb the thought; Shut out all else; until a subtle flame (A spark from God’s creative center caught) Shall permeate your being, and shall glow, Increasing in its splendor, till, YOU KNOW.

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