It is not an immediate process. I have heard an old lady declare that she "got religion" in the twinkling of an eye, and she believed all people would be damned and burn in hell fire, who did not pass through this sudden illumination. It is possible that the religion which can worship a God cruel enough to burn his children in fire, can only be obtained in the twinkling of an eye; but the reverent, wholesome, and beautiful religion of "New Thought" must be grown into little by little, through patience, faith, and practice. All that it claims to do it can do, but not instantaneously, not rapidly. We must first make ourselves over; after absolute control of our minds has been obtained, then, and only then, may we hope to influence circumstances and health. The Important Trifles You will find, in the effort to reach a higher spirituality in your daily life, that the small things try your patience and your strength more than the greater ones. Home life, like business life, is composed of an accumulation of trifles. There are people who bear great sorrows with resignation, and seem to gain a certain dignity and force of character through trouble, but who are utterly vanquished by trivial annoyances. The old-fashioned orthodox "Christian" was frequently of this order. Death, poverty, and misfortune he bore without complaining, and became ofttimes a more agreeable companion in times of deepest sorrow. He regarded all such experiences as the will of God, and bowed to them. Yet, if his dinner was late, his coffee below the standard, if his eye-glasses were misplaced, or his toe trodden upon, he become a raging lion, and his roar drove his affrighted household into dark corners. There have been neighborhood Angels, who watched beside the dying sinner, sustained orphans and widows, and endured great troubles sublimely like martyrs. But if a dusty shoe trod upon a freshly washed floor, or husband or child came tardily to the breakfast-table, or lingered outside the door after regulation hour for retiring--lo, the Angel became a virago, or a droning mosquito with persistent sting. The New Philosophy demands serenity and patience through small trials, as well as fortitude in meeting life's larger ills. It demands, too, that we seek to avoid giving others unnecessary irritation by a thoughtless disregard of the importance of trifles. A man is more likely to keep calm if he wakes in the night and discovers that the house is on fire, than he is if, on being fully prepared to retire, he finds the only mug on the third story is missing from his wash-stand, or the cake of toilet-soap he asked for the day before has been forgotten. A mother bears the affliction of a crippled child with more equanimity than she is able to bring to bear upon the continual thoughtlessness of a strong one. To be kind, means to be thoughtful.