Modern pedagogy introduces the study of psychology into the curriculum of an ever increasing number of its specialized departments, thus indicating the development of an apprehension of the power of thought. Inevitably this must lead to recognition of thoughts as things, and later to the knowledge of our responsibility as their creator. "My thought children," the literati call their printed productions. "Our institutions are the outgrowth of the thought of the nation," the students of political economy affirm, but we yet wait to be vitalized by the realization of the vast thought progeny which surrounds us, each thought a living entity eventually to become embodied in physical existence. Surely an appreciation of this momentous truth will marshal the thought forces of the world into decisively opposing lines, and we shall be compelled to choose with which side our powers shall be allied, the imperative moment arriving for each of us with the knowledge of our true position in life as "Thinkers," or radiators of thought force.
Let the imagination conceive of what must be the aspect of the limp, paralyzed and stupid little thought-form that has been projected into space by the expression, "I can do so little." Recall to mind that it is the law of all embodiments to follow magnets, and then attempt to realize the inevitable career of such a negative and helpless imbecile. What else could occur to it but that it should be drawn into the dark atmosphere of despair, increasing the gloom with its depressing whisper of impotence, "I can do so little."
Shall the incarnate Soul, a centre of divine energy, whose mission it is to manifest that energy until all that lives awakes to lofty possibilities of consciousness, be held back by thought-creations such as these? Or shall the acceptance of a sublime ideal and clearly denned objective point impel the counter declaration, "I can do much?" Charged with life in proportion to the depth of the conviction, with energy of will and buoyant faith, a thought-child of this order may become capable of angelic ministration. Penetrating the dark of the world, it quickens into a glow the latent spark in the hearts of the discouraged ones and inspires to new determination and consequent achievement.
The great question, then, for each of us is this: Shall we serve the world as master creators of bright and helpful messengers, or shall we remain the slaves of our own impotent thought-progeny?
Probably the task of imperial self-assertion, — not for self, but for her sex and for the race, — is more difficult for woman than for man, centuries of restricted environment having left inactive faculties that must once more be quickened into glad and confident activity; but none who read the signs will deny that the hour is ripe for her to overcome the hereditary sense of limitation, to redeem the time lost in her nap of ages, and to once more assume the regal prerogatives of her office.
Acting without the knowledge now in our possession, the women of the past century have executed pioneer work upon which we who follow, if we appreciate our indebtedness and our opportunity, shall build. A too careful examination can hardly be given to the achievements of those who dared to insist, amid every sort of opposition, "I can do much." Let us trace the effect along one of very many lines in the industrial world. Observe, for instance, the elevation of the professional nurse from the style portrayed to us by Dickens to the dignity of the present intelligent and efficient type; an example of what must ultimately be accomplished in every department of commercial life. Within the memory of the present generation those women who dared to conduct a millinery shop were considered too disreputable for association with their helpless but respectable sisters. With the courage of a true conviction, however, there were heroines who persevered until countless channels of activity are now open, and multitudes are added daily to the list of the self-sustained, each unit thus becoming more independently assertive, and each unconsciously forcing the standards of quality to be raised.
Robert Ingersoll, when asked how he would change the government of the world if he were God, replied: "I should make health contagious instead of disease." There is abundant demonstration that it is already so in the fact just quoted, for it was the contagion of a healthful impetus toward mutual helpfulness that, spreading rapidly uplifted the women of the United States by the hundred thousand; and, crossing seas and continents, its influence has also touched and raised the thought-power of our sisters in almost every corner of the earth.
Endowed with the confidence born of a consciousness of her limitless capacity as Soul; accoutred by her best knowledge of the reality and potency of thought-entities, the woman warrior member of the Universal Brotherhood Organization must take her place before the advancing hosts of women to hold before them a true concept of life and the sublime grandeur of its meaning. Standing in the glory of a new born day, the generic woman-soul must be permitted to proclaim through her, by thought and word and act, its trumpet-toned announcement of a resurrection. Not on ears incapable of hearing shall the blessed tidings fall; but aspiration shall be rekindled until, from the ranks of the rich woman and the poor, the cultured and the ignorant, the strong and the disabled, the free-born and the slave, the words shall reverberate like echoes, "I also can do much, for I, too, can think."
Not one to whom so high a calling has been vouchsafed has excuse for inactivity, and desire for membership with those who wear the badge of Universal Brotherhood is the call. Henceforth equipment for such service must be the ruling wish, and for those who desire to serve, the fields, by the first culture of the pioneers, are already fertile with suggestion.
How may the lost arts and sciences be revived except by restoration of our efficiency as workers? And will this efficiency appear again unless we learn to love our work as artists should? Who that realizes, even faintly, the ever present living reality of Soul fails to apprehend the treasure everywhere concealed; and who, perceiving it, comprehends not the simple method by which it may be drawn forth?
It is active interest all along the line that develops the untold wealth waiting dormant in Nature's treasure-house; and such accomplishment, ascending plane on plane, it is for us everywhere to achieve. Approach, then, ye women who hold woman's future in your hands — approach the smallest task with holy reverence, and lose your sense of limitation in the doing. The homeliest, the most insignificant of duties, must be accepted as a sacred trust, and but awaits your living interest to develop possibilities far beyond your present ken. Regard each effort, then, as an opportunity for the expression of the real self within, and into it weave the whole life story, thus impressing all things of the present moment with the ideals and possibilities of the next, and restoring the artistic and the prosaic to their old-time, hand-in-hand companionship. The displacement of Nurse Gamp has been paralleled by the disappearance of many another similar anomaly, and all still existing forms of the old order must vanish before the "Thinker," whose intelligence shall raise every possible vocation into the all-inclusive province of high art.
We who proclaim that there is little we can do are self condemned for lack of vigilance in seeking opportunity. Even while we waste our force by giving utterance to the impious words, "I can do so little," cries of distress doubtless are made within our hearing, of which we remain unconscious because we have not given heed. Pre-occupation with personal concerns has dulled our powers of observation; otherwise we should know that anywhere and every instant there is not only work for us to do, but work that must remain undone until we do it. To shield ourselves behind the shabby old excuse, "I did not think," is now impossible. The imperative duty of the "Thinker" is to think, to remain incessantly on watch, and to act the moment opportunity is perceived. Lives go astray; tortuous iniquities exist; suffering remains unrelieved; poverty is left unaided; and souls sink into oblivion whenever the "Thinker" forgets to think.
To prepare for action is assuredly as much our duty as to act. The first command of any military drill — "Attention!" — is that which we most need, as the first requirement for any sort of service is that we shall be alert. The hour strikes suddenly when we are called upon to act, and those who prove their fitness are they who have discovered that fully to realize present opportunity is the whole secret of power. Any situation may avail us as a vital educator if we perceive our chance of preparation for mightier effort and more trustworthy guardianship. The more phases of existence we have to pass through the greater the insight we may acquire. The resourceful woman in emergency is always one whom Goethe describes as having "seen something and lived something." Back of all effective administration of affairs are the eons of experience through which the Soul has gained its power. Why, then, shall we not transform and glorify events by our appreciation of their profound significance? And why not learn to adapt ourselves to any condition in which the law has placed us for our instruction until we become so wholly reconciled as to say of it, "For the sake of all my brethren, I thank God that I am here?"
To those who insist that the enormous opportunities of the present time belong only to a certain class of women, we must recall the magnificent work of the ignorant colored woman, Sojourner Truth, during our civil war. At a mass meeting the news of repeated reverses had so depressed the assembly that even the silver tongue of Wendell Phillips appeared to be half paralyzed. Rising from her seat, Sojourner pointed her finger at the orator and cried out, "Wendell, is God dead?" The effect was electrical. The courage of all who were present revived and a resolute enthusiasm took the place of the previous despondency.
The force of a deep conviction, in which was concentrated her whole life energy, gave to a woman who was entirely unadorned by special gifts or acquirements, the ability to arouse a vast and lethargic audience. A consummation far more glorious awaits us all, for each may aid to reinvigorate the soul-consciousness which is to redeem the race. With the duality of nature becoming ever more distinctly apparent, we cannot fail to comprehend how inevitably the influence from the ranks of darkness reaches and absorbs us when we are not actively co-operating with the powers of light. Whichever side we reinforce, reinforces us. The world languishes for the incentive of a living faith. It perishes from the disorders caused by prevalent low ideals. We must no longer permit ourselves to remain in a negative condition, but spread a contagion of health by placing ourselves with absolute assurance as a part of the army that makes eternally for righteousness and peace. Persistently holding up its standards of purer, truer living, and recognizing the imperishable treasure within the hearts of all, it is the queenly prerogative of the very least of us to revivify the listless and the down-hearted by the sublimity of our faith in their limitless possibilities of attainment.
Nor does so majestic a realization require always to be brought about by word of mouth, or even by outward act. "As we think, so are we," declares an authority very high indeed; for thinking, we learn to act, and acting, we learn to be. The new world which is opening for the race requires the creation of a nobler type of womanhood. For this it is primarily essential that we recognize ourselves as greater than any possible stress of circumstances; that we grasp firmly, and nourish with every thought, the ideal of our inherent wisdom and virtue, until all that is foreign to it shall die and fade away; and that, self-centred, — through knowledge of the eternal truths of being, — we become so positive an affirmation that our presence calls to all within the radius of its influence to awake and share our light and power.
So may we illumine the world with the radiance of a self-conscious declaration, "While life lasts in the body I can and will do much."