freedom in action, and put it directly to use. Sometimes it will
result in a small action, sometimes in a great one; but, whatever it
is, it must be _done._ If we drop the resistance, and do not use the
freedom gained thereby for active service, we shall simply react
into further bondage, from which it will be still more difficult to
escape. Having dropped my antagonism to my most bitter enemy, I must
do something to serve him, if I can. If I find that it is impossible
to serve him, I can at least be of service to someone else; and this
action, if carried out in the true spirit of unselfish service, will
go far toward the permanent establishment of my freedom.

If a circumstance which is atrociously wrong in itself makes us
indignant, the first thing to do is to drop the resistance of our
indignation, and then to do whatever may be within our power to
prevent the continuance of such wrong. Many people weaken their
powers of service by their own indignation, when, if they would
cease their excited resistance, they would see clearly how to remedy
the wrong that arouses their antagonism. Action, when accompanied by
personal resistance, however effective it may seem, does not begin
to have the power that can come from action, without such
resistance. As, for instance, when we have to train a child with a
perverse will, if we quietly assert what is right to the child, and
insist upon obedience without the slightest antagonistic feeling to
the child's naughtiness, we accomplish much more toward
strengthening the character of the child than if we try to enforce
our idea by the use of our personal will, which is filled with
resistance toward the child's obstinacy. In the latter case, it is
just pitting our will against the will of the child, which is always
destructive, however it may appear that we have succeeded in
enforcing the child's obedience. The same thing holds true in