HAPPINESS AND MARRIAGE ***
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HAPPINESS AND MARRIAGE
BY
ELIZABETH TOWNE
"The inner side of every cloud Is bright and shining; I therefore turn my clouds about, And always wear them inside out-- To show the lining."
--_James Whitcomb Riley_.
"And I will show that there is no imperfection in the present, and can be none in the future, And I will show that whatever happens to anybody it may be turned to beautiful results."
--_Walt Whitman_.
1904
CHAPTER I.
TO BE HAPPY THOUGH MARRIED.
"Some dear relatives of mine proposed Ada as my future bride. I like Ada and I gladly accepted the offer, and I mean to wed her about the middle of this year. Is this a working of the Law of Attraction? I want to make our married life happy and peaceful. I long for a wedded life of pure blessedness and love and joy without even a pinhead of bitterness ever finding lodgment in our household. How can I attain this state of peace? This is what I now do: I enter into the Silence daily at a particular hour and enjoy the mental picture of how I desire to be when married. Am I right? Please tell me how to make my ideal real." Tudor, Island of Ceylon.
The above letter comes from a member of the Success Circle who is a highly cultured and interesting looking native East Indian. We have a full length photo of him in native costume.
He asks if "this is the working of the Law of Attraction." Certainly it is. Just as the sun acts through a sheet of glass so the Law of Attraction acts through the conventionalities of a race. Whatever comes together is drawn together by the Law. Whatever is held together is held by that same Law of Attraction.
This is just as true in unhappy marriages as in happy ones. If two people are distinctly enough individualized; that is, if they understand and command themselves sufficiently; their attraction and marriage will bring to them only pleasure. If they are not distinctly enough individualized there will be a monkey-and-parrot experience whilst they are working out the wisdom _for which they were attracted_.
When soda and sour milk are drawn together there is a great stew and fizz, but the end thereof is sweetness and usefulness. So with two adverse and uncontrolled natures; but out of the stew comes added wisdom, self-command and rounded character for each.
When each has finished the work of helping the other to develop they will either find themselves _really_ in love with each other, or they will fall apart. _Some stronger attraction will separate them at the right time_--perhaps through divorce, perhaps through death.
_All_ our goings and comings are due to the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction giveth, and it taketh away. _Blessed_ is the Law. _Let_ it work. And forget not that _all_ things are due to its working.
This does not mean that the Law has no way of working _except_ through the conventionalities of a people. Many times the attraction is to break away from the conventional. _The stronger attraction always wins_-- whatever is, is _best_ for _that time and place_.
"Tudor" says he "enters into the silence daily at a particular hour and enjoys the mental picture of how he desires to be when married."
His success all depends upon the _equity_ in that picture; upon its truth to the law of being.
An impractical idealist lives in the silence with beautiful pictures of "how he desires to be when married." When he gets married there isn't a single detail of his daily experience which is like his mental picture. He is sadly disappointed and perhaps embittered or discouraged.
