Purity

Purity is not an untangible virtue as most think, but something that can be achieved with effort, patience and dedication. Would you like to learn how?

Photo by Johnny McClung on Unsplash

Purity is a virtue that is very difficult to understand.

According to the dictionary, pure is that which is clean, untouched, without spots or blemishes. In that sense, purity would be the state of someone who has never been touched by evil, in any of its forms.

Purity would have to be preserved from the beginning, as any stain would imply its loss.

In human terms, everyone would be born pure and remain so until they commit the first fault. In such a sense, the state of purity would be forever lost and beyond the reach of the vast majority of men.

However, Jesus affirmed the bliss of the pure in heart.

It is not possible that the happiness of the blessed is restricted to a tiny minority, for Christ also said that none of his sheep would be lost. Thus, the meaning of the word purity cannot be restricted to the condition of someone who has never been touched by evil.

Perfect Purity

Purity is not something you are born with or something that can be lost at the slightest slip. It is a state of consciousness to be built over time.

Being pure is not being ignorant of the reality of life, but opting for the good, for the beautiful, for the just.

On the flip side, an impure person only sees evil everywhere. They are those who judge and are always willing show levity on each action. Being harsh censors, they often expect a purity that they do no have and violently criticize those who make efforts to achieve it.

The pure person identifies the evil where it really exists. They perceive and regret dishonesty, selfishness, perversion and cruelty.

Final Thoughts

Purity is something that can be achieved.

Struggling to overcome our own difficulties is hard but worthwhile. What we need is to stop wasting time criticizing the conducts of others and focusing on our own bad habits to overcome them patiently.

Mary Magdalene is an opportune example of purity achieved. Despite the great mistakes of his past, after meeting Jesus she began to cultivate purity in her life. Her story is an eloquent symbol of the victory of reason and will over passion and vices.

Becoming pure is possible and it only depends on our own efforts.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on January 10, 2018.

See Also

• The Power of Love
• Weighted observation
• The most important bridge
• Bridge of Life
• A Thinking Power
• Divine Poem

When did we forget?

Most of us come from virtuous families so why so many of us become corrupt politicians, bad professionals and beings who only think about themselves?

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

In an interview, a young woman said that she was about seven years old when she went to the grocery store near her with her mother. While the mother did the shopping, she, the girl, hid a candy in her pocket.

On the way out, feeling like the smartest girl in the world, the girl showed the candy to the mom and said: Look, I took it without paying.

She received a stern look back. The mother took her by the hand, returned to the market, had her return the candy and asked her to apologize. The girl cried so much from being ashamed but now, years later she understands that that gesture taught her the value of honesty.

Childhood Education

It is possible that several of us have had similar experiences, so we ask: when did we forget the lesson? What made us forget our childhood education?

Childhood is the period in which the human being is mostly malleable to the construction of the self. It is the period when the education given by parents have more weight because after all, they know everything. It is the period where examples speak much louder than words.

How many of us, still had teachers who taught us to be responsible, disciplined and correct? Teachers who devoted their lives to teaching with their own examples? 

Why did we forget?

So why did we leave those noble lessons behind?

If most of us came from homes where we were taught virtues, what made us despise honor and honesty? Why so many of us become corrupt politicians, bad professionals, beings who only think about themselves?

So here are some points that you probably learned in your childhood that are worth reflecting:

• Do not take anything that does not belong to you.
• If you find an object, look for the owner because he must be missing it.
• Respect your neighbor, your space, your property.
• Public goods belong to the people and everyone should benefit from them. No one has to take for themselves what belongs to everyone.
• Respect the domestic servant, the postman, the garbage man. They are valuable contributors to our lives.
• Remember to thank the diligent work of those who delicate their lives to the public.
• Greet peoples smile.
• Give up your place, in the collective, to the elderly, to people with special needs, to pregnant women, to those who carry small children in their arms.
• Give way to traffic, wait a second longer for the pedestrian to complete the crossing, before starting off with speed, just because the signal has opened.

Final Thoughts

Laws are created so that by obeying them, we live better as a society. Let us make a return to childhood and remember the virtuous examples given to us by our parents and our teachers.

The world of tomorrow awaits our correct actions today. Now.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on August 04, 2015.

See Also

• The Power of Love
• Weighted observation
• The most important bridge
• Bridge of Life
• A Thinking Power
• Divine Poem