“Oh, but that can’t be,” you exclaim, “because So-and-So brings out only the evil in me.  He makes me feel so hateful and mean.”  Let us see, dearie. The hateful and mean feelings are due to your RESISTING that which his influence would bring out of you. For instance, you were late at your appointment with him.  Of course you thought you had a good excuse; but if promptitude were one of your strong points, instead of one of your latencies, you would have been on time in spite of that excuse—­if it were your habit to be on time you’d have swept aside a much greater hindrance before you would have allowed yourself to be behind time.  Now So-and-so is naturally prompt and, having had some experience with you he knew you were not; so when, he having arrived fifteen minutes ahead of time as it is his nature to do, you came tripping in fifteen minutes late—­smiling confidingly as you excused yourself (he, having spent the half hour in cultivating a grouch at you for not being as prompt as himself)—­he, of course, looked sulky and answered shortly.  Then you pouted and finally worked yourself into quite a temper over his inconsiderateness and crankiness because of that paltry little fifteen minutes he had to wait.  He worked himself into a temper because you were not on time; you worked yourself into a temper because he wasn’t “nice.”  All that working was your individual doings.

But it all resulted in your resolving that if ever you had another engagement with that man (you’d take good care not to if you could help it, though!) you’d be on time if it killed you.  Of course you didn’t tell him so.  And he resolved that the next time he made an engagement with you he’d know it, but if he did he would make up his mind to be on time instead of ahead of time, and he’d not care if you were late.

So you see, the Law of Attraction accomplished its divine purpose in attracting you two to make that engagement—­it waked in you a resolution toward promptness; and it waked in him a resolution to be on time rather than before time in future, and to be civil if you happened to be late—­since you are only a woman and can’t be expected to appreciate the value of promptness!

This is the way all our associations in life work together for good to develop our latencies, to strengthen our weak points. The wiser we are the less emotion we waste in resenting the developing process—­the more readily we see the point and take the resolution hinted at. You see you and your friend had had other such experiences as the one described—­you had been late before when So-and-so condoned the matter and said nothing. He let you off so easily that you never thought of resolving not to be late again. You felt that he had been displeased but you depended upon your niceness to make it all right again, and it never occurred to you to call yourself to account and resolve that it should not happen so again.  You were too heedless to take a hint, so you had to have a kick.