. There simply cannot be a result without
a cause. They have earned it in other lives when the conditions did not
permit immediate harvesting of the results of the good forces generated
and Nature is paying the debt and making the balance of her books at a
later period. It may be in the case of one that some specific act is
attracting its reward, or it may be in the case of another that he is
nearing the point in evolution where he no longer desires things for
himself, only to discover that nature fairly flings her treasures at his
feet. He has put himself in harmony with evolutionary law--with the
divine plan, and nature withholds nothing.

When we eliminate chance, then, we are forced to seek the cause of
unexplained good or bad fortune beyond the boundaries of this life
because there is nothing else we can do. We have results to explain and
we know they do not come from causes that belong to this life. They must
of necessity arise from causes generated in a past life.

Now the moment we get away from the narrow view that we began existence
when we were born, all the mysteries about us disappear and we can fall
back on natural law and logically explain everything. Why does one
person begin life with a good mind while another is born with small
mental capacity? Because one worked hard at life's problems in past
incarnations while the other led a butterfly existence and merely amused
himself. Why does one move serenely through trying circumstances always
maintaining a cheerful view of life while another loses control of his
temper at the slightest annoyance and wears himself out with the
trifling vexations of existence? Only because one has for a long period
practiced self control while the other has never given a thought to the
matter. Why is one so thoughtful of others that he wins universal love
and admiration while another is so self centered that he makes no true
friends at all? Again past experience explains it. The one has studied
the laws of destiny and lived by them while the other has not yet even
learned of their existence.

Putting aside the old belief that the soul is created at birth, and
keeping in mind the newer and scientific view that we have all lived
many lives before, all the difficulties and perplexities at once
disappear. We are no longer puzzled because we find in a man's life some
good fortune when he has apparently done nothing to deserve it, for we
see that he must have set the forces in mot