Under those circumstances we should be scientists, and proceed to investigate instead of being anxious or permitting grief and worry. We should look for the facts in the case, the lesson to be learned, for the law to be discovered; and in every instance, these so-called evils will prove to be instructors, giving us valued and timely information along many lines.

When we learn to look upon these conditions on the left or on the right as necessary advisers, knowing that we are here to continue on the path, training ourselves to see that in the ultimate, or in the fundamental, all things are good, the effect upon the mind will be wonderful. The moment we begin to live in the conviction that all things have a good purpose, whether we may see it now or not, we will find the mind becoming more wholesome, becoming stronger and more active, and that life will be elevated and enriched in many ways. We then enter into what has been called healthy mindedness, and we all appreciate the fact that such an attitude holds immense power for greater things. We shall also find the mind becoming more constructive, because, instead of a large percentage of the elements and forces of the mind being turned aside, warring with outside conditions to no purpose, these energies will be used in building for the greater enrichment of existence. Thus the mind will be enlarged, consciousness expanded, and life become deeper, higher, more beautiful and more perfect in every form and manner.

We all know the value of filling the mind brimful of good thoughts; we know what a difference it makes; we know how much it adds both to joy and power; and there is no better way in which we can do this than to live in the conviction that all is good. And we shall not find it difficult to live in this conviction when we know that after all, the so-called evils of the world are good friends existing on the right and on the left of the path to remind us when we step aside, so that we may return at once.

Another important gain is this, that if we realize that all is good, we will want to look for the real good and the greater good that must necessarily exist within all conditions, beyond all conditions, above all conditions. If we train the mind in this manner, complying with the great law, "He who seeks shall find," making it a practice to look for the greater good in everything and in everybody, we will find that consciousness will steadily expand, reaching out more and more, coming in contact with more desirable things, more things of value and worth than we ever were conscious of before.

We understand that when the mind dwells continually in an attitude where attention is concentrated upon the imperfect, we are not coming in contact with greater worth nor meeting the superior in life anywhere. Such a mind may be satisfied in a certain sense, for a brief time, but can gain nothing from life that will have a real or permanent value; and in every instance, the temporary satisfaction that was secured from contacting with the imperfect will give way to a state of mental and physical disease, due to the fact that such a mind will soon find itself outside the path.

It is the mind that touches the worthy, the superior, the higher, the finer and the richer on all sides that really gains happiness, and that really gains possession of the highest and the best that life can give. If we seek for the greater good in all places and in all modes of life, we will not simply find the good, but the greater good and the greater worth; and if there is one thing that we all need very much, it is this training of the mind to reach out for the greater, the worthier, the superior in all thought and action.

We frequently ask ourselves what might be the greatest need upon this planet at the present time; and the answer is simple - a larger number of superior men and women. We need more such men and women in order that they may become inspirations to the race. The entire world, almost, is now convinced of the truth that our destiny is upward and onward. The race can advance, and must advance to be true to life; but the question is, how we are to find those elements and methods through which continuous advancement may be realized. Here we should remember the statement, "When I am lifted up." It is the same with every individual; it was not simply true of Jesus Christ, although true of him to a larger degree than any one else. We know, through experience and observation, that whenever any individual takes higher ground, that individual becomes an inspiration to scores, to hundreds, to thousands. Therefore, we want more superior men and women in the world, men and women who have found the real worth of life, who have found the upper side, the real side, the true side, the superior side, the lofty side - that side of life that is teeming, we might say, with the rich, the beautiful and the ideal. We want more such men and women to become inspirations to the race; and to that end we should give more attention to this wonderful law of seeing the greater good everywhere.

However, we are not going to find this greater good if we give most of our time and attention trying to eliminate those conditions that exist on the outside of the path. If we think that those things are bad and try to remove them, we are wasting time. They are perfectly harmless where they are; and we need not go out where they are. It is not intended that we should go out where they are; it is intended that we should remain on the path where we shall never find pain, trouble, sorrow, sickness or adversity in any form or manner.

Henceforth, therefore, our object should be to let those harmless things on the outside alone; and instead of trying to remove them, we should give our time and attention to the training of the race to remain on the path. That would solve the great problems of evil all over the world.

In analyzing the subject further, we find that, although all things are good, fundamentally speaking, some things are better; that is, there are many things that contain possibilities for greater and greater good; but we cannot find the better or the greater anywhere unless we consecrate life absolutely to the idea that all is really good - that all things can and do, in themselves, serve a great purpose.