Bethlen Naptár, 1949 (Ligonier)
Respect for ideals
72 BETHLEN NAPTÁR mind, worked a miracle, and that paralyzed man became, almost overnight, a noted author and a beloved companion of millions of readers. He found an ideal to serve, and serving that ideal made him great. There is a wonderful power in ideals. Once they get hold of one’s mind, and fire one’s imagination, one cannot help but be lifted by them. Being invested with such power, do they not remind one of the prophet’s words: “They that wait on the Lord, renew their strength; they shall run and not be weary; they shall mount on wings as the eagle.” (Es. 40:31.) Many a life, seemingly ruined by adversities, has been redeemed and made a source of great blessing simply by the embracing of a noble ideal. A vast number of people, who could produce nothing worthwhile, while their vision was dimmed by looking only at the things that can be seen, rose to astounding heights by devoting their lives to the service of some noble ideal. The woman who is mainly responsible for the formation of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, was known to be a shy and timid woman, hardly adapted to the undertaking of some great task. Overtaken by illness, she was confined to a sanatorium for ten years. Driven into solitude, she became possessed by a great ideal. She began a correspondence, which she kept up as long as her dream came true. One of the most popular novels ever written, “The Rosary”, which has been translated into eight languages, was written by a woman bed-ridden with heart-disease, but fired by a holy passion to create something beautiful. The greatest composer, Frederick Chopin, was sick from childhood. His sickness, while diverting his interest from less worthy objects, actually helped him to keep on composing. “One doctor”, he said one day, “said that I would die, the second doctor said that I was about to die, and the third said that I was already dead.” And he kept on composing. I hope I shall not be misunderstood. The point which I am trying to bring out is not that physical handicaps are a necessary asset in a man’s life to make him successful, although there is much truth in the French saying that adversity makes men and prosperity makes monsters. The point that I am trying to bring out is that ideals represent that dynamic force which, coupled with vision, courage and determination on man’s part, help him to raise himself from the mire of mere material existence, and bring to light the truly human values that lie hidden in his inner self. Whether physically handicapped or in the height of physical well-being, the success of man’s life is de-
