Joshua Loth Liebman "On my head pour only the sweet waters of serenity. Give me the gift of the Untroubled Mind." Once, as a yongy man full of exuberant fancy, I undertollk to draw up a catalogue of the acknowledged "goods" of life. As other men sometimes tabulate lists of properties they own or would like to own, I set down my inventory of earthly desirables: health, love, beauty, talent, power,riches,and fame. When my inventory was completed I proudly showed it to a wise elder who had been the mentor and spiritual model of my youth. Perhaps I was trying to impress him with my precocious wisdom. Anywany, I handed him the list. "This", I told him confidently, "is the sum of mortal goods. Could a man possess them all, he would be as a god." At the corners of my friend's old eyes, I saw wrinkles of amusement gathering in a patient net. "An excellent list," he said, pondering it thoughtfully, "well digested in contented and set down in not-unresonable order. But it appears, my young friend, that you have omitted the most important element of all. You have forgotten the one ingredient, lacking with each possession becomes a hideous torment." "And what." I asked, peppering my voice with truculence, "is that missing ingredient?" "What a pencil stub he crossed out my entire schedule. Then, haveing demolished my adolscent dream structure at a single stroke, he wrote down three syllables: peace of mind. “This is the gift that God reserves for His special Proteges." he said. |