“Our search must be for the grains of gold.”
– Charlotte Mason, Ourselves – Our Souls and Bodies, Bk. 2 p. 187
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| Eastern Screech owlet in our yard this week! |
These words have been impressed upon me over the past few months. There is so much there. No lecture here, just sharing with you and hoping that you can ponder what it means, too. Here is more context for you:
“We must not be bent upon finding what we take for dross, whether in the Bible, in the ordering of the world, or in that of our own lives. Our search must be for the grains of gold, and, as we amass these, we shall live and walk in the continual intimacy of the the divine Love, the constant worship of the divine Beauty, in the liberty of those whom the Truth makes free.”
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| Our daisy corner (HT – Jen G.) |
Dross is the waste or scum skimmed off of metal during the purifying process. Worthless, commonplace, or trivial are also packed in that definition. This search is a choice – a choice about what you are going to focus on, think about, dwell upon.
I don’t know how many times I’ve read Volume 4 of Mason’s but I am constantly uncovering new thoughts and fresh ideas. I will be sharing many of these at the upcoming CMI conference in a 2 hour session entitled, “A Third Position: Ourselves and Moral Development”. Then, that evening I will facilitate a discussion on the first half of this volume – Book One – Self Knowledge. Consider joining me as I would LOVE to hear what grains of gold you have found.
Warmly,
Nancy
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| petals from the ornamental crabapple – confetti! |
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I wishI was there listening to your talk. I am thankful though that I am going to my first CM retreat this fall which is nearish to me!
Charmayne
I can't wait to hear and to see you! This has encouraged me today. These few words are powerful: as we amass these,
Dear Amy,
I completely understand, which is why one of the purposes of my talk will be to equip parents and teachers to feel comfortable and confident in reading this book in their schools. I will probably do a blog series on it later. My first experience mirrors yours, so take heart.
With affection and regard,
Nancy
Lovely garden you have, Mrs. Kelly! 🙂 I just started Ourselves for Myself this year and to be honest have been struggling to grasp some of the beginnings of it. Partly because it's noisy around these here parts. 😉 However, I'm inspired by your post and I SHALL PERSEVERE. Bless you.