am I free
from him. It is impossible that he should oppress me, if I am willing
that he should be unjust or unkind; and the freedom that comes from
such strong and willing non-resistance is like the fresh air upon a
mountain. Such freedom brings with it also a new understanding of one's
friend, and a new ability to serve him.

Unless we live a life of seclusion, most of us have more than one
friend, or acquaintance, or enemy, with whom we are brought into
constant or occasional contact, and by whom we are made to suffer; not
to mention the frequent irritations that may come from people we see
only once in our lives. Imagine the joy of being free from all this
irritability and oppression; imagine the saving of nervous energy which
would accompany such freedom; imagine the possibility of use to others
which would be its most helpful result!

If we once catch even the least glimpse of this quiet freedom, we shall
not mind if it takes some time to accomplish so desirable a result, and
the process of achieving it is deeply interesting.

The difficulty at first is to believe that so far as we are concerned,
the cause Of the trouble is entirely within, ourselves. The temptation
is to think:--

"How can I help resenting behavior like that! Such selfishness and lack
of consideration would be resented by any one."

So any one might resent it, but that is no reason why we should. We are
not to make other people's standards our own unless we see that their
standards are higher than ours; only then should we change,--not to win
the favor of the other people, but because we have recognized the
superior value of their standards and are glad to put away what is
inferior for what is better. Therefore we can never excuse ourselves
for resentment or resistance because other people resent or resist.
There can be no possible excuse for resistance to the behavior of
others, and it is safe to say that we must _never pit our wills against
the wills of other people._ If we want to do right and the other man
wants us to do wrong, we must pass by his will, pass under it or over
it, but never on any account resist it. There has been more loss of
energy, more real harm done, through this futile engagement of two
personal wills than can ever be computed, and the freedom consequent
upon refusing such contact is great in proportion. Obedience to this
law of not pitting our wills against the wills of other people leads to
new freedom in all sort