As I was finishing the 1911 book by James Allen entitled The Eight Pillars of Prosperity, I ran into his sixth pillar, Sincerity, and found myself immersed in some of the most powerful writing I have ever read. That chapter and the next that focuses on the pillar of Impartiality, together, are astounding! He was a genius. He was and is a voice of wisdom for the ages. All quotes below come from Allen's Eight Pillars.
Allen teaches that "[h]uman society is held together by its sincerity." The lack of sincerity between people, institutions, and systems, reason dictates, would "beget a universal mistrust which would bring about a universal separation." To hammer home his point he makes it crystal clear that our very lives are "made sane, wholesome, and happy by our deep rooted belief in one another." He reminds us that history shows that sincerity has worked more than it has failed and that systems have survived because at the core most people are good and, profoundly I think, that society "contain[s] within itself the seeds of perfection." He encourages us to not focus so much on the "rottenness of society" and to quit thinking that everything is bad. The good and the sincere thrive and survive while the fakes, the egotistical, and those focused on selfish ends or unbending partiality (where opinion becomes more important than truth), are always revealed for who they are and can achieve short-term prosperity.
Think of it, for centuries, our entire system of commerce and government has had at their roots the notion that people trust one another to make payment for the delivery of quality goods, establish representative forms of government made up of people doing the bidding of the people, and deposit life savings with banks expecting to someday make a withdrawal of the amount with interest added. At the heart of society and human interactions, a trust-based system is essential in all walks of life because it gives us a great sense of "universal confidence." in one another. "[H]uman society rests on a strong basis of truth backed by sincere people--people who are what they purport to be, people who believe in the good of others, people of morality. As Allen explains, "[m]orality and sincerity are so closely bound up together, that where sincerity is lacking, morality, as a power, is lacking also, for insincerity undermines all the other virtues, so that they crumble away and become of no account."
In our own lives it is worth contemplating Allen's wisdom. Are you sincere--real, trustworthy, transparent, and a believer that there is more good than bad? Or, have you succumbed to insincerity where you think everyone and everything around you is crumbling down, down, down and that the seeds of perfection in people are lost to immorality. Sadly, too much of the media and too many of us won't or can't see the beauty of the seasons, the light in people's eyes, and the grandeur of living, but instead, have chosen to see only the bad in government, business, and society.
Don't let the naysayers win the battle for our minds. Look around you for the sincere and you will see that they abound all around us. People help their neighbors. People voluntarily return lost goods. People are honest and good neighbors. Most people in positions of public trust are doing the best they can under incredibly difficult circumstances. True, there is a minority of people who do create challenges for the majority but we can't lose sight of the fact that the majority is substantial and that most people are good and doing the best they can. Look for those who live sincere lives, as described by Allen. They are the great leaders, teachers, and mentors in our lives who give us confidence to hang in there, to believe, to be principled, and to trust ourselves and those around us. Be such a person and you will help heal the hurting and overcome the destructive.
The following website contains the complete collection of James Allen: http://james-allen.in1woord.nl/. The site claims that his collection is in the public domain because his works are more than 75 years old. I don't know if that is true. I have his collection of nineteen books on Kindle and paid a little over $10 for it. Whatever you choose, Allen's wisdom about sincerity and so many other concepts is worth any price.
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| "Knowledge Comes But Wisdom Lingers." at the U.S. Library of Congress |
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| "Ignorance is the Curse of God, Knowledge the Wing Wherewith We Fly to Heaven" At the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. |
Think of it, for centuries, our entire system of commerce and government has had at their roots the notion that people trust one another to make payment for the delivery of quality goods, establish representative forms of government made up of people doing the bidding of the people, and deposit life savings with banks expecting to someday make a withdrawal of the amount with interest added. At the heart of society and human interactions, a trust-based system is essential in all walks of life because it gives us a great sense of "universal confidence." in one another. "[H]uman society rests on a strong basis of truth backed by sincere people--people who are what they purport to be, people who believe in the good of others, people of morality. As Allen explains, "[m]orality and sincerity are so closely bound up together, that where sincerity is lacking, morality, as a power, is lacking also, for insincerity undermines all the other virtues, so that they crumble away and become of no account."
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| Statue at the Amazing Library of Congress |
In our own lives it is worth contemplating Allen's wisdom. Are you sincere--real, trustworthy, transparent, and a believer that there is more good than bad? Or, have you succumbed to insincerity where you think everyone and everything around you is crumbling down, down, down and that the seeds of perfection in people are lost to immorality. Sadly, too much of the media and too many of us won't or can't see the beauty of the seasons, the light in people's eyes, and the grandeur of living, but instead, have chosen to see only the bad in government, business, and society.
Don't let the naysayers win the battle for our minds. Look around you for the sincere and you will see that they abound all around us. People help their neighbors. People voluntarily return lost goods. People are honest and good neighbors. Most people in positions of public trust are doing the best they can under incredibly difficult circumstances. True, there is a minority of people who do create challenges for the majority but we can't lose sight of the fact that the majority is substantial and that most people are good and doing the best they can. Look for those who live sincere lives, as described by Allen. They are the great leaders, teachers, and mentors in our lives who give us confidence to hang in there, to believe, to be principled, and to trust ourselves and those around us. Be such a person and you will help heal the hurting and overcome the destructive.
The following website contains the complete collection of James Allen: http://james-allen.in1woord.nl/. The site claims that his collection is in the public domain because his works are more than 75 years old. I don't know if that is true. I have his collection of nineteen books on Kindle and paid a little over $10 for it. Whatever you choose, Allen's wisdom about sincerity and so many other concepts is worth any price.
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