The Only Thing That Matters
By Emmet Fox
The most important of all things to possess is Peace of Mind. There is absolutely nothing else in the world which is equal in value to that. Nothing else that life can offer is so important, and yet it seems to be about the last thing that many people work for. They strive both spiritually and materially for everything else under the sun, whereas, if they had everything else, and still lacked Peace of Mind, they would be miserable. If anyone should come to you with a billion dollars in one hand and Peace of Mind in the other, if you took the billion dollars, you would be the most foolish person on earth.
Peace of Mind includes all other good things. If you have this, it does not matter where you are or what surrounding conditions may be-all will be well. Even if the outer picture were an unpleasant one in itself, it would cause you no grief if you had Peace of Mind, and very soon that picture would inevitably change into something better.
Peace of Mind is positively the greatest of all God's gifts. Pray for this and the rest will take care of itself. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you," said Jesus, implying that this was the highest good he had to give us. And truly, peace of mind is the one thing
that matters.
This writing can be found in Emmet Fox's book "Find and Use Your Inner Power".
When looking to use a writing to improve my life, I pick the writing apart and study it. Every time I read it, something different will stick out. It may be only one word, but this word will give me a new way to explore the idea. Here is an example of what stuck out to me when making this post.
When I read it, the line about the choice between peace of mind or a billion dollars caught me.
Like you, I had to find the things that gave me peace and do them. That is where it starts. Getting peace from things outside myself is an important tool to use. Without it, we would not survive and grow spiritually. How others see this writing and use it to find Peace of Mind is an important tool for me to gain insight into myself. So I would appreciate your insights.
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The tragedy closes a door only to open the door to a new opportunity. Yesterday, I had a sewer line clog. I talked to the tenant and explained what we would do to resolve the issue.
I walked through the issue with possible causes and fixes. Then it occurred to me that I may not have the resources to resolve the issue in a timely manner, and I may have to call a plumber to take care of this for me. this may be an opportunity to develop a relationship with a local plumber with a service team to handle my plumbing issues.
We never go backward. That is only an illusion. With Peace of Mind we know we are moving forward. Without Peace of mind we are victims.
A beautiful moment
my wife and I have had several trying weeks and of course all went as well as it should.
This morning my wife and I woke to exercise - something we have dedicated ourselves to this year. I am listening to music on my headphones and stop the music to hear what my wife it is playing. It is a video blog about the 7 Day Mental Diet.
thats right. With no effort or proselytizing on my part, my wife is beginning to study emmet fix because she sees what he has done for me - what this fellowship has done for me.
My wife has been reading sermon on the mount without any discussion with me, I just happened to notice it one day. Now I really need to be mindful of my actions! She'll have more fodder to hold me accountable 😁.
I am always guarded when someone preaches with their lips. They may have an agenda that does not coincide with mine.
But when someone preaches with their actions, I am less guarded. But I still guard what I allow into my mind, for it is the most precious of my possessions. With my mind, I create my future. If I let my guard down, you are creating my future. Even if I fail it is better than creating your future in my life.
The way he acts speaks so loud. I can not hear a word he says.
Who lights a candle and sticks it under a basket? No, he puts it on top of the table, so it lights the whole room.
Joe Devlin was at our group on Thursday and told us that he will present on Emmet Fox's writing "Prayer is the Remedy." He picked it because it takes him deeper into "The One Thing That Matters." We talked about the different forms of prayer.
The writing is brief and simple, but once we break it down into segments and expand on these, it will raise our Peace of Mind. I have included the text here.
Prayer is the Remedy
Remember that the one thing that matters is prayer. Time spent in prayer is never wasted. If you do not pray, you cannot expect results.
You may say, "I do not actually pray much, But I keep my thoughts right all day." This is self-deception of a deadly kind. If you were keeping your thoughts right, you would find yourself giving much time to prayer. Pray definitely for yourself everyday or you will get nowhere.
If you are fearful, or worried, or tired, or discouraged, or hurried, or disappointed, or in pain, God is your sure remedy - so pray.
If you will pray faithfully and regularly and try to live up to the best that you know, it is only a question of time before all troubles all doubts and fears, all sad memories, all mistakes will fade away forever, and perfect peace and joy will come into your life.
This is a self-deception of a deadly kind.
I was prejudiced to what prayer was. Emmet Fox is telling me that by telling myself that I do not pray much, I am living in a self-constructed prison. This prison is cutting me off from everything but myself.
I needed to expand my understanding of prayer. Prayer is anything that comes from my heart.
If prayer is from my heart and not my mental faculties, then I must stay aware of where my thoughts originate.
Emmet Fox's writing of "Prayer is the Remedy" tells me I must definitely pray for myself. I find out my Heart's Desire and ask God for the direction and tools to accomplish the next step.
If I only pray for the end result, frustration can be the result of this prayer. Emmet says to pray for yourself every day and live up to the best you can do. If I do this my prayer will not be repetitious. I will have changed and improved enough over the last 24 hours that I will be in need of a little tweaking of the tools I am using to accomplish my Heart's Desire.. Through prayer, I will receive the guidance to tweak my day and keep it going in the right direction.
All I ever searched for spiritually and materially in every other thing was for all troubles all doubts and fears, all sad memories, all mistakes to fade away forever, and for perfect peace and joy to come into my life.
Consistent prayer, and I mean consistent, has not been practiced. I read here to do it faithfully and regularly.
God is your sure remedy - so pray.
Pray definitely for yourself regularly every day, or you will get nowhere.
We are taught to pray for mercy for ourselves and pray for others and for their problems to be resolved.
For a while, my prayer was, "God, do not let me forget this pain. I get through this problem, and I forget the pain associated with this, and I repeat the mistake. If I remember the pain, it will be easier to find a different solution."
Prayer was the Remedy
Peace of Mind includes all other good things.
The past few weeks have been abundantly full of Gods provisions, the fruits of doing extra and continuing to have faith and trust in Gods direction has put me on a path that has begun. It feels like I am on a ride at an amusement park. It's fun and adventurous. I don't know what's in store yet but I am excited knowing that if I keep doing the work it only will get more exciting.
The way Up- my reading today talking about living the way up to God and keeping my life on the right side of the tracks today. Because I am implementing new habits and strategies in my life I am living a life of putting myself the way Up towards God.
daring grately and taking an inventory of how I can improve my life and contribute to Peace of Mind I am on my way Up to God,
stopping by Lefty's was a huge deal in my peace of mind. I've missed out the last couple and I had time to swing by, We talked about looking forward to this upcoming season, and how planting new things in our lives keeps us working on ourselves and it's exciting. This time is very valuable to me,
But when I realized I had to leave my house at 2:30 am to get the train, I was wondering how this would all pan out, I said to myself it would all be worth it.
I am on the train to NYC for the days duty's, I kept it in my mind of one step at a time, Get to the train station. The rest will take care of itself. Here we go for today - one thing at a time.
i am grateful I took the time to stop in and reset my mind on this work. I got to see Joe and Bob which was also a great joy.
i am grateful for getting to my train on time to get to NYC. I am grateful I talked to that man months ago and asked him a question and now it has provided an opportunity. Had I not been around a great mentor group that helped me ask for help. I would not be on this train
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