Pervasive Principles.
Nothing is more marvelous to the thoughtful mind than the endlessly varied applications and effects of simple natural laws and principles. The Creator is infinitely versatile. From the one agency of light he derives a wealth of beauty which all artists and poets find it impossible to exhaust. From the one agency of chemical attraction and repulsion he gains the stupendous interest and usefulness of the minerals, the plants, the animals. His single power of gravity is applied equally to the circles of the planets and the flight of a gnat.
We go far in the conduct of life when we discover that here also simplicity reigns, with infinitely varied effects. Once admit to your heart the principle of unselfish love, and all events are transformed, with all circumstances. Allegiance to the truth, absolute, unfaltering, is another endlessly effective principle. Devotion to Christ is a single impulse, but it changes every hour of every day. Thus we are not obliged, in order to be happy and strong under all circumstances, to study all the shifting elements of existence. We have only to do a few things, only to accept a few laws. They will then do their work, pervading every corner of our being and transforming for us all the world.
Mixed up With Things.
We "fixed over" our parlors a few months ago, and we thought—my wife and I—that we would try a few Japanese theories. Simplicity—that was our watchword.
For the walls, just cartridge paper, of a cool green. No border, but run-ring clear to the top, with a plain white molding close to the ceiling; an admirable background for pictures.
For those pictures, very few; no more than half of the pictures that had dashed and crowded before. Hardly more than one on a wall-area.
As to bric-à-brac, very little of it. Just a vase or something of the sort, here and there, and those the best we had. Gew-gaws sent to the attic.
As to floor covering, the simplest of rugs, with no striking patterns.
For furniture, the unobtrusive sort, with quiet upholstery. Nothing in the two rooms but is restful, harmonious, and simple.
Well! in the first place, the two rooms, which connect by an archway, look twice as large as before. I tread the amazing space, and think I am in a palace instead of a very modest little abode.
In the second place, the rooms give a luxurious sense of ease. There is nothing in them that clamors. There is no confused appeal for attention. They are harmonious and soothing.
And in the third place, they are far more easily kept clean and in order.
Why have I related this household episode? Partly, I confess, for the bit of advice to other households that it contains; but far more for the sake of its application to life.
Our lives, in these days, must be strenuous, I suppose; but they need not be crowded and confused.
If you want to live finely, live simply. Don't get mixed up with a lot of things. Don't allow your individuality, that for which you should stand in the world, to be smothered by a mess of clamorous interests. Clear out the bric-a-brac. Cultivate large spaces of thought and survey and planning. My word for it, you will think you are a new being, in a new world.