“The days that are past have gone forever, and those that sleep in the womb of the future may not be seen by you in your present state of being. Therefore, it is well to concern yourself wholly with the present, forgetting the past and not expecting too much from the future.
“The present alone is yours, and the fortunes of futurity will be dispensed according to the Law; therefore, you cannot know what the unborn days will bring forth. As to your own future state, subject to the Law, it is being conceived in your present thoughts and deeds.
“Idleness is the parent of poverty, but success and prosperity, attend upon the industrious and diligent.
“Waste not the early hours of the day. Serve your master with diligence, and promotion will be your reward. The man of affairs rises early to establish himself. Neglect not the affairs of the day, nor fill them with idle dreams of yourself when greater, for thus, you feed yourself on wind while your bread is eaten by another.
-The Kolbrin Bible (MPR:23:1-4)
The Past is Gone
While it is true that the past is gone, that doesn’t mean we should forget the lessons of the past, both negative and positive. If we forget the past, we would be like babies again, not knowing how to speak or walk. So it is not desirable to forget the past. I think the point the quote is trying to make is that we should not let the failures of the past prevent us from doing better in the present.
We cannot know the Future
While it is largely true that we cannot know the future, we can predict many future events with accuracy. We can predict that the sun will rise in the morning and set in the evening and be nearly certain that it will happen. Likewise, we can predict that those of us who practice spiritual development techniques will advance spiritually, while those who do not will remain trapped in the material. So even though we can’t say how long it will take for each individual to achieve total enlightenment, we can say that those working towards that result will achieve it. As the quote admits, the future is being “conceived” by our thoughts and deeds, so by controlling our thoughts and deeds, we can control our future.
Idleness is the Parent of Poverty
While it is true that we must work for what we want, there are exceptions, such as those individuals who inherit fortunes and never have to work at all. For us spiritual people, it is true that those who are spiritually idle, that is, who do not practice their spiritual growth techniques regularly, will achieve little and thus live in spiritual poverty.
Waste not the Early Hours
Those of us in Cosolargy know how important it is to be up early, at least early enough to practice our spiritual techniques at sunrise. Some of us find that early morning is a good time to work on other things as well, such as writing these articles, which I am doing at 7:00 am. I find that I am less likely to get interrupted by phone calls, or noise in the early morning hours.
Idle Dreams
We also should not spend time on idle dreams of success without working to achieve it. As the quote says, that can result in others getting our share of “bread”. We in Cosolargy know that when talking about spiritual matters, “bread” as mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer, refers not to the baked good found in the physical realm, but to the Light that comes from God that nourishes the spirit. So rise early and do your spiritual development techniques so you will get the true Bread promised by God.
