* Dawn Rising *  

We are what our thoughts have made us

The character of any man is but the aggregate of his tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind.  As pleasure and pain pass before the soul, they leave upon it different pictures, and the result of these combined impressions is what is called a man’s character. 

We are what our thoughts have made us.   Words are secondary.  Thoughts live; they travel far.

Good and evil have an equal share in molding character and in some cases misery is a greater teacher than happiness. 

In studying the great characters the world has produced, I dare say, in the vast majority of cases, it would be found that it was misery that taught more than happiness, it was poverty that taught more than happiness, it was poverty that taught more than wealth, and it was blows that brought out their inner fire more than praise. 

Brought up in the lap of luxury, lying on a bed of roses and never shedding a tear, who has become great?  When there comes affection in the heart, when the storm of sorrow blows all round, and it seems as if light will be soon no more, when hope and courage are almost gone, it is then, in the midst of this great spiritual tempest, that the light within gleams.*

Using the simile of lake for the mind, every ripple, every wave that rises in the mind, when it subsides, does not die out entirely, but leaves a mark and a future possibility of that mark coming out again.   Every work that we do, every movement of the body, every thought that we think, leaves such an impression on the mind-stuff, and even when such impressions are not obvious on the surface, subconsciously.

What we are every moment is determined by the sum total of these impressions on the mind.  If good impressions prevail, the character becomes good, if bad, it becomes bad.  If a man continuously hears bad words, thinks bad thoughts, does bad actions, his mind will be full of bad impressions; and they will influence his thought and work without his becoming conscious of the fact.

Similarly if a man thinks good thoughts and does good works, the sum total of these impressions will be good and they in a similar manner will force him to do good in spite of himself.  When a man has done so much good work and thought so many good thoughts, there is an irresistible tendency in him to do good.  Even if he wishes to do evil, his mind, as the sum total of his tendencies, will not allow him to do so.  He is completely under the influence of the good tendencies.  Watch a man do his most common actions.  Those are indeed the things which will tell you the character of the great man.  Great occasions rouse even the lowest of human beings to some kind of greatness, but he alone is really great whose character is great always---the same wherever he be.

Habit.  When a large number of these impressions is left on the mind, they coalesce and become a habit.  That gives us consolation because, if it is only habit, we can make it and unmake it at any time.  The only remedy for bad habits is counter habits.  All the bad habits can be controlled by good habits.  That is the only way to suppress base impressions.  Character is repeated habits and repeated habits alone can reform character. 

We commit mistakes because we are weak, and we are weak because we are ignorant.  We put our hands over our eyes and weep that it is dark.  Take the hands away and there is light.  The light exists always for us, the self-effulgent nature of the human soul.  Continue to exercise your will and it will take you higher.  That which has made you come up so high, can make you go higher still.  What you want is character, strengthening of the will.

If you go home and sit in sackcloth and ashes, and weep your lives out because you took certain false steps, it will not help you, but will weaken you all the more.  If this room is full of darkness for thousands of years and you come in and begin to weep and wail, will the darkness vanish?**  Strike a match and light comes in a moment.  Bring in the light and evil goes in a moment.***

Build up your character and manifest your real nature, the Effulgent, the Resplendent, the Ever-Pure and call it up in every one you see.

Source: Education, compiled from the speeches and writings of Swami Vivekananda, compiled and edited by T.S. Avinashilingam, P.O. Ramakrishna Vidyalaya Coimbatore-20 (Tamil Nadu) India.  

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* Mrs Besant once said: "When I look back over life I would willingly surrender all my joys, but not my sorrows, for I learnt the most by them."

** As it is useless to cry over spilled milk.

*** There's not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light in one small candle"

---A Quote from Sojourners Magazine

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I just want to share this very inspiring poetry sent from one of the sweetest grandmas in the world: Thank you so much grandma Yara!