TRAINING AND DIETS

You say that you are interested in having a strong body, and you devote yourself to rigorous gymnastics and educational sports.

You say that you are ill and devote yourself to difficult treatments, enduring long fasts and taking bitter medicines.

Remember that in our tranquility and assurance, we also need diets and training. We shall not enter the shrine of education without constant exercise and study, nor shall we penetrate the glory of love without the constant practice of charity. The physical athlete is apt to inquire, to the applause of the public: “How often have I beaten my competitors?”

The spiritual athlete may ask himself, with the divine blessing: “How often have I conquered myself?”

In our moral activities, in search of perfection, it is wise for us to learn how to make the mental leap over the hurdles of slander and senselessness, thus keeping ourselves in the running for the acquisition of humility, in the invaluable tests of tolerance and kindness, exercised in the protection of our fellow men.

In defense of our inner peace, it is also imperative not to forget to abstain from unfortunate thoughts, with deliberate avoidance of the dishes of slander and the vinegar of criticism, completely abolishing the wine of flattery and the liquor of eulogy, which produce a pitiable intoxication, resulting in the desertion of our responsibilities.

Training and diets....

Do not do without them on Earth, so that you may protect yourself in the realms of physiological equilibrium, in relation to eugenics, health and preservation.

Do not forget, however, that on behalf of the harmony of your soul, you should not neglect the same resources in the sustenance of an upright conscience and the cultivation of your own happiness, for it is only by obeying the laws of work and charity, simplicity and cooperation, that we shall obtain the degrees of sympathy and merit, enabling us to attain triumphant happiness.

Scheilla