When people choose to withdraw far from a fire,

the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold.

When people choose to withdraw far from light,

the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness.

This is also the case when people withdraw from God.

The spiritual dimension is the core, the center, the commitment to the value system. It’s a very private area of life and a supremely important one. It draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to the timeless truths of all humanity. And people do it very, very differently.

The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the spirit. If you win the battles there, if you settle the issues that inwardly conflict, you feel a sense of peace, a sense of knowing what you’re about. And you’ll find that the Public Victories — where you tend to think cooperatively, to promote the welfare and good of other people, and to be genuinely happy for other people’s successes — will follow naturally.