Mary's Motivational E-book

For years, Mary has been collecting poems, thoughts, and stories. She was putting together all these items in a motivational e-book. She wanted her motivational e-book to challenge people's thinking.

As I read her e-book, I was amazed at the diversity of thoughts it contained. I asked Mary which one of the many selections was her favorite. She brought up the following page:

Lessons I Have Learned
By A. J. Cronin

When a man surveys his past from middle age he must surely ask himself what those bygone years have taught him. If I have learned anything in the swift unrolling of the web of time, it is the virtue of tolerance, of moderation in thought and deed, of forbearance toward one's fellowmen.

I have come also to acknowledge the great illusion which lies in the pursuit of a purely material goal. What slight satisfaction lies in temporal honor and worldly grandeur! All the material possessions for which I strove so strenuously mean less to me now than a glance of love from those who are dear to me.

Above all am I convinced of the need, irrevocable and inescapable, of every human heart, for God. No matter how we try to escape, to lose ourselves in restless seeking, we cannot separate ourselves form our divine source. There is no substitute for God.

Mary's comment on this selection was that it was written so long ago, but yet holds true today. And the point about material possessions reinforced her own belief that material things are not important. She stated it reminded her of the saying, "The most important things in life aren't things."

Her other comment was that we sometimes forget about God, and that Cronin's writing is to the point - there is no substitute for God!