"There is a calmness and a serenity and unhurriedness—no more striving or
straining about anything. That's a very important thing I've learned.
If your life is in harmony with your part in the Life Pattern... then life is
full and life is good but life is nevermore overcrowded. If it is
overcrowded, then you are doing more than is right for you to do—more
than is your job to do in the total scheme of things."
"Most people interested in vacations are those who are doing
things they are not called to do, which they want to get away from
for awhile. I couldn't imagine feeling the need of a vacation from
my pilgrimage. How good it is to travel south in the fall of
the year, experiencing the tranquil beauty of the harvest
time—but staying ahead of the frost; experiencing the
brilliant beauty of the autumn leaves—but traveling on before
they are swept from the trees. How good it is to travel
north with the spring, and to enjoy the spring flowers for
several months instead of several weeks. I have had both these
wonderful experiences in the middle of the country."
"One merges into a euphoria of absolute unity with all life: with
humanity, with all the creatures of the earth, the trees and plants, the
air, the water, and even earth itself."
"As I put on my simple clothing one day after a swim in a clear
mountain lake I thought of those who have closets full of clothes to
take care of, and who carry heavy luggage with them when they travel. I
wondered how people would want to so burden themselves, and I felt
wonderfully free. This is me and all my possessions. Think of how
free I am! If I want to travel, I just stand up and walk away. There
is nothing to tie me down."
“People sometimes ask me how I spend holidays - especially Christmas.
I have spent many of them walking. Many people go for a drive on a
holiday, so it is a good time to contact people. I remember one
Christmas Eve when I slept out under the stars. One planet was so
bright that just a little imagination could transform it into the star
of Bethlehem. The next day, at a temperature of 80 degrees, I walked
into New Orleans to find poinsettias blooming abundantly for Christmas
and to find some fine, new friends.
“I spent one Christmas in Fort Worth, Texas, where the
towers and the tall buildings were outlined with colored lights,
presenting an unforgettable picture as I walked into the city. That day
I was given the welcome present of enough time to catch up with my
mail.
“People sometimes ask me if I do not feel lonely on
holidays. How can I feel lonely when I live in the constant awareness
of God's presence? I love and I enjoy being with people, but when I am
alone I enjoy being alone with God.”
“If you really understood everything, all your wrong reactions would
turn into compassion. Those who evoke wrong reactions in you are out of
harmony, and especially in need of love. Yes, it is most important to be
loving. Meet every situation with love and you will be able to handle
it. If someone does the meanest thing to me, I feel the deepest
compassion for that person and pray for that person - I do not hurt
myself by a wrong reaction of bitterness and anger.”
"A complete stability of unhurriedness. Fear is absolutely gone from
your life. You cannot feel fear because when you know that God is right
there, naturally you're with God."
"When I started out my hair had started to turn to silver. My friends
thought I was crazy. There was not one word of encouragement from them.
They thought I would surely kill myself, walking all over. But that
didn't bother me. I just went ahead and did what I had to do. They
didn't know that with inner peace I felt plugged into the source of
universal energy, which never runs out. There was much pressure to
compromise my beliefs, but I would not be dissuaded. Lovingly, I
informed my well-meaning friends of the existence of two widely
divergent paths in life and of the free will within all of us to make
their choice."
"There is a well-worn road which is pleasing to the senses and gratifies
worldly desires, but leads to nowhere. And there is the less traveled
path, which requires purifications and relinquishments, but results in
untold spiritual blessings."
"I remember a time of the year when it got very cold at night. It
went below freezing, but then it warmed up a little in the daytime, so
the days were fairly pleasant. It was in the fall, and there were dry
leaves on the ground. I was in the middle of the woods and there wasn't
a town for miles around. It was sunset and it was a Sunday. Someone
had read a thick Sunday newspaper and tossed it beside the road - like
they shouldn't, but they do. I picked it up and walked off the road
and found a thick evergreen tree. Underneath it was a little depression
where some leaves had blown. I pushed a lot of leaves into that
depression. Then I put some paper down and placed the rest of the paper
over me. When I woke in the morning there was a thick white frost over
everything, but the evergreen tree had kept it off of me, and I was
snug and warm in my nest of leaves and paper. That's just a tip in case
you get caught out some night."
“Never underestimate the power of God's love - it transforms! It reaches
the spark of good in the other person and the person is disarmed.”
“I would like to mention some preparations that were required of me. The first preparation is to take a right attitude toward life.
This means, stop being an escapist! Stop being a surface liver who
stays right in the froth of the surface. There are millions of these
people, and they never find anything really worthwhile. Be willing to
face life squarely and get down beneath the surface of life where the
verities and realities are to be found. That's what we are doing here
now."
“As I looked about the world, so much of it impoverished, I became
increasingly uncomfortable about having so much while my brothers and
sisters were starving. Finally I had to find another way."
“I feel a complete protection on my pilgrimage. God is my shield. There
are no accidents in the Divine Plan nor does God leave us unattended. No
one walks so safely as those who walk humbly and harmlessly with great
love and great faith."
“How often are you worrying about the present moment? The present is
usually all right. If you're worrying, you're either agonizing over the
past which you should have forgotten long ago, or else you're
apprehensive over the future which hasn't even come yet. We tend to
skim right over the present moment which is the only moment God
gives any of us to live. If you don't live the present moment, you
never get around to living at all. And if you do live the present
moment, you tend not to worry. For me, every moment is a new and
wonderful opportunity to be of service."
After you have found your calling, you work easily and joyously. You never get tired.”
“If you are harboring the slightest bitterness toward anyone, or any
unkind thoughts of any sort whatever, you must get rid of them quickly.
They are not hurting anyone but you. It isn't enough just to do right
things and say right things - you must also think right things before your life can come into harmony.”
“I sleep equally well in a soft bed or on the grass beside the road. If I
am given food and shelter, fine. If not, I'm just as happy. Many times I
am given shelter by total strangers. When hospitality is not available
there are always bus depots, railroad stations and all night truck
stops.... When no shelter is available to me, I sleep in the fields or
by the side of the road with God to guard me.”
“When love fills your life all limitations are gone. The medicine this sick world needs so badly is love.”
"I walk until given shelter, fast until given food. I don't ask - it's
given without asking. Aren't people good! There's a spark of good in
everybody, no mater how deeply it may be buried. It's waiting to govern
your life gloriously.”
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