| The Glory of the Common Life |
Chapter 14 |
Page 4 |
Some people, however, permit themselves to be dwarfed in their hampering conditions. They allow the narrowness of their circumstances to get into their souls, and every noble aspiration is smothered, the wings of hope are cut, the fires of enthusiasm are quenched. There are stories of men who have been buried alive, sometimes built into granite walls. So these people allow themselves to be buried alive, in their narrow circumstances. Far more people than we know make this mistake. They have not wealth with its luxuries to give them a soft nest. They have not influential friends to open doors for them, to lift them into places of comfort and favour, to give them opportunities for a great career. So they conclude that their lives are doomed to littleness and failure. But really, if they only knew it, what they consider disadvantages are meant for advantages. What they regard as hopeless handicaps are meant to be wings on which they may rise. The narrowness which makes some people despair is really a condition full of great possibilities. It needs only courage and persistence to turn it into a blessing. One writes:–
“Misfortune met two travelers, and swelled to twice his size;
One, cowering, groaned, ‘Alas, this hour!’
And fell no more to rise.
“The other climbed the ugly shape, saying, ‘It’s well you came!’
And made Misfortune serve him as
A stepping stone to fame.”
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