Day 4 Anyhow

The Lacemaker, Vermeer, c. 1699-1670

“The Habit of turning out Imperfect Work. ––'Throw perfection into all you do' is a counsel upon which a family may be brought up with great advantage. We English, as a nation, think too much of persons, and too little of things, work, execution. Our children are allowed to make their figures or their letters, their stitches, their dolls' clothes, their small carpentry, anyhow, with the notion that they will do better by-and-by. Other nations––the Germans and the French, for instance––look at the question philosophically, and know that if children get the habit of turning out imperfect work, the men and women will undoubtedly keep that habit up.”
 
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“Most people associated with us (P.N.E.U.) know something of the treatment of sensations, the direction of the will, the treatment of temper, the psychology of attention, the desires and affections which are the springs of conduct, and other practical matters concerned with the management of one's life. We hear people who use that fine old nursery plan expressed 'change your thoughts' with method and success in the case of cross, or even delirious, or morbid patients. We (of the Parents' Union) feel as if we had a tool in our hands and knew how to set to work. The principle, anyhow, we perceive to be right, and, if we blunder in its application, we try again, whether for ourselves or for our children.”
 
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“Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep me both outwardly in my body and inwardly in my soul, that I may be defended from all evil thoughts which may assault and may hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. +Amen”
 
                                                  ~ Book of Common Prayer
 
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Examen: Where have I made a habit of thinking I will do better by-and-by? Is there a handicraft that draws my attention to the fallacy of “any old how?”  How does that relate to the craft of teaching?


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 The Habit of turning:  Charlotte M. Mason, Home Education, 1:159.
Most people associated: Charlotte M. Mason, School Education, 3:87.
Almighty God, you: “Collects: Contemporary (Seasons of the Year),” accessed June 3, 2024, https://bcponline.org/Collects/seasonsc.html#lent.
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Day 4 Anyhow meditation/100 Days copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025

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