to do our daily work, not as a task which must be "got through," in
order to bring us a living, or because it is expected of us that we
should work, but as an offering of love to life and the world, in
order to come into harmony with the great law of service. Our ideas
of values with regard to occupations are altogether erroneous, from
the "inner wisdom" point of view. The scrubbing of a doorstep, if
faithfully done in a true spirit of service, is of as much value and
real importance as the writing of a deathless poem, or dying for one's
country. We can never truthfully say that one act of service is of
greater value, or is more important than another. All that the higher
law looks at is the _motive_. Therefore, if your motive is right,
you can be engaged in the humblest and, apparently, most useless
occupation, and yet be happy because you satisfy the law of service.

Another road to happiness is the conquest of the lower nature, the
overcoming of weaknesses, the climbing to higher and better things.
There is intense happiness in realizing daily that old habits are
being overthrown, weak points in the character built up, and an
ever-increasing state of liberty and freedom entered into. Thank God,
we do not have to remain as we once were, but can progress upwards,
indefinitely, for there is no limit to our upward climb.

But there is a state that is far higher than happiness, and this is
JOY. Happiness comes through service and overcoming, but joy comes
only to one who realizes his oneness with his Divine Source. The
_reality_ is ineffable joy. Behind this world of shadows is the real,
spiritual world of splendour and delight. When the soul, after its
immense journey through matter, time and space, at last finds its
way back to its Divine Source, it becomes aware of this intense joy,
too great to be described in words. It not only realizes that the
_reality_ is joy, and the universe filled, not with groans or sighing,
but with the sweet, quiet laughter of freed souls! it also is filled
itself with this ineffable joy.

What has all this got to do with practical, everyday life, it may