Character and Conduct – 27 October – Living in the Present

BE NOT anxious about to-morrow.   Do to-day’s duty, fight to-day’s temptation, and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking forward to things which you cannot see, and could not understand, if you saw them.

CHARLES KINGSLEY

DO NOT disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life.   Let not thy thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which thou mayest expect to befall thee:  but on every occasion ask thyself, What is there in this which is intolerable and past bearing? for thou wilt be ashamed to confess.   In the next place remember that neither the future nor the past pains thee, but only the present.   But this is reduced to a very little, if thou only circumscribest it, and chidest thy mind, if it is unable to hold out against even this.

MARCUS AURELIUS

FINISH every day and be done with it.   You have done what you could.   Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in;  forget them as soon as you can.  To-morrow is a new day;  begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.   This day is all that is good and fair.   It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.

EMERSON

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These quotes are from ‘Character and Conduct’ A selection of helpful thoughts from various authors arranged for daily reading.

Collected by Constance M Whishaw and first published in 1905 as a follow up to her volume of Daily Readings for members of the Being and Doing Guild who asked for an additional volume

In her preface Whishaw writes:

‘This collection of noble thoughts expressed by men and women of past and present ages who have endeavoured to leave the world a little better than they found it.’

It is my hope in publishing them here readers may be inspired to imitate the example of the authors.