MAY THIRTY-FIRST

Ludwig Tieck born 1773.

Joseph Haydn died 1809.

Walt Whitman born 1819.

    Passage, immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! 
    Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor! 
    Out the hawser—­haul out—­shake out every sail! 
    Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough? 
    Have we not groveled here long enough eating and drinking like mere brutes? 
    Have we not darkened and dazed ourselves with books long enough? 
    Sail forth—­steer for the deep waters only,
    Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me,
    For we are bound where mariner has not dared to go,
    And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

    —­Walt Whitman.

    Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: 
    for Jehovah thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not
    fail thee, nor forsake thee.

    —­Deuteronomy 31. 6.

My Father, give me joyful courage to squarely face my life.  Help me to know that I cannot vanquish life by evading duties, nor encircling myself with indulgences.  If I may be blind to my situation, restore my sight that I may make ready a worthy passage with thee.  Amen.

JUNE

    There lives a glory in these sweet June days
      Such as I found not in the days gone by,
      A kindlier meaning in the unclouded sky,
    A tenderer whisper in the woodland ways;
    And I have understanding of the lays,
      The birds are singing, forasmuch as I
      Have learned how love avails to satisfy
    A man’s whole heart, and fills his lips with praise.

    —­Percy C. Ainsworth

JUNE FIRST

Nicolas Poussin born 1594.

Sir Christopher Marlowe died 1593.

Sir David Wilkie died 1841.

Hugo Muensterberg born 1863.

In every act of ours, in every feeling and every volition and every thought, we are conscious of a self which expresses its aims and meanings.  Every idea of ours points beyond itself, every volition binds us in decision, and every experience gets meaning by our attitudes.  The most immediate task which life demands from us in the understanding of ourselves and of others is, therefore, to interpret our ideas, to draw the consequences of our will, to appreciate the attitudes, to measure them by higher standards.

    —­Hugo Muensterberg.

    And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

    —­Genesis 1. 26.

My Creator, I pray that I may not only have the desire to know life, but the assurance to live it.  Help me to understand that my earthly possessions are not the measure of my life, nor my body the boundary of my living.  May I reach for the high standards that are free, without limit, to all.  Amen.