How to be Square
Reprint from the Science of Living Magazine, 1933.
Probably no subject has been written on, talked about, and thought of more intensively than the necessity for being square. We venture to assert, however, that very few of those who have discussed its importance have covered the field squarely from every direction.
The story of an ancient philosopher comes to mind to illustrate the extent to which a subject can still be analyzed when every phase seems to have been covered. The story related the efforts of a philosopher to teach thoroughness to his pupils; he was in the habit of assigning them the description of a certain object. Usually after 10 or 15 minutes, the student would return with a considerable amount of information regarding the object with whose study he had been charged. Thereupon the philosopher would send him away again with instructions to study the matter further, and each time the student returned he would again send him away, until with those who persevered, an almost unbelievable amount of information would be collected in regard to a subject which at first seemed amply covered by 10 minutes deliberation.
So it is with the subject chosen for this month:
"HOW TO BE SQUARE"
It is limitless in its possibilities. To begin with there are no square human beings. It is the most precious and rarest condition for us even to approximate. We are every one of us lopsided, unbalanced, in other words, insane in some direction.
The average individual will probably disagree with the above statement; he thinks the whole ground of squareness is covered when he brings out the fundamental importance of being honest in dealing with this fellow beings; he will show the necessity for being upright, straightforward and truthful under all circumstances, perhaps examples of adherance to truth in spite of great personal loss, either financially or in reputation, will be held up as a desirable course to pursue by those who wish to be square.
In the endeavour to show the beauty of squareness, stress will be laid upon the need for truth even in small matters, and "white lies" will be shown to be just as heinous as "black" ones.
Some will include among the attributes of squareness; purity, chastity, unselfishness; others will stress the necessity for us to be honest and truthful with ourselves.
In short, the vast majority of precepts for "squareness" are based upon the recognized lack of truth in us and the consequent necessity for its cultivation.
Is this, however, all that is required? Is a decrepit, diseased, doddering old philosopher "square" merely because he tells "no lies"? And is chaste and unselfish? Can the Force of Truth be dull, sickly and without power? Squareness is far more than narrow adherence to any one factor.
For any one to be square they must not alone be truthful, they must be healthful, vigorous, full of life, active. Their bodies must express outwardly the truth within them; they must be well proportioned, accurately built, good to look upon by reason of their symmetry and the vigorous life currents within.
Can anyone be "square" if their sense of truth is so rigid that it submerges their intelligence, causing them needlessly to hurt others by unwanted "confessions of error" merely in an effort to relieve themselves of responsibility for acts committed. That is not square, nor even truthful.
To be square one must not alone be truthful and healthy, one must be intelligent. One's intelligence must be co-ordinated harmoniously with one's honesty. The light of our mind must shine uninterruptedly upon every step of ground we tread before we can be called square.
Finally, is it square, actively to dispense truth, to give those around us their just due, if we perform this dourly, joylessly as a duty? That is not being square. Sternly to impose our conception of honesty on others with never a smile or kindly act is to be the opposite of square.
To be square one must honestly, intelligently and actively distribute the joy of our life impartially on all with whom we come in contact. Like the sun which sheds its rays on all alike, we must be square with all around us, we must be filled with life's currents, intelligently and accurately directing them towards a joyous end. That is true squareness because it is the squareness of all constructive Powers on this planet. It is the Squareness of the Father Himself.
IN LIGHT AND WITH LIGHTL. AnciauxEditor of the 1933 publication
Live NOW ~ A Science of Being Magazine
