§360 the rich & the poor 205
c. Thoughtfulness toward our neighbor is doing what is good, fair, and upright in all our deeds
and in all our responsibilities: 8120 , 8121 , 8122. So thoughtfulness toward our neighbor extends to
every least thing we think and intend and do: 8124. Without a life of thoughtfulness, a life of
piety is of no use, but with it, it is immensely productive: 8252 , 8253.
gentle and lowly of heart, and you will fi nd rest for your souls: for my
yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 11 : 29 – 30 ). The reason the
Lord’s yoke is easy and his burden light is that to the extent that we resist
the evils that well up from love for ourselves and the world, we are led by
the Lord and not by ourselves. Then the Lord resists those things within
us and removes them.
I have talked after their death with some people who during their 360
earthly lives had renounced the world and devoted themselves to a virtu-
ally solitary life, wanting to make time for devout meditation by with-
drawing their thoughts from worldly matters. They believed that this was
the way to follow the path to heaven. In the other life, though, they are
gloomy in spirit. They avoid others who are not like themselves and they
resent the fact that they are not allotted more happiness than others.
They believe they deserve it and do not care about other people, and they
avoid the responsibilities of thoughtful behavior that are the means to
union with heaven. They covet heaven more than others do; but when
they are brought up to where angels are, they cause anxieties that upset
the happiness of the angels. So they part company; and once they have
parted, they betake themselves to lonely places where they lead the same
kind of life they had led in the world.
[ 2 ] The only way we can be formed for heaven is through the world.
That is the ultimate goal by which every affection must be defi ned. Unless
affection manifests itself or fl ows into action, which happens in sizeable
communities, it is stifl ed, ultimately to the point that we no longer focus
on our neighbor at all, but only on ourselves. We can see from this that
the life of thoughtfulness toward our neighbor—behaving fairly and
uprightly in all our deeds and in all our responsibilities—leads to heaven,
but not a life of piety apart from this active life.c This means that the prac-
tice of thoughtfulness and the benefi ts that ensue from this kind of life can
occur only to the extent that we are involved in our occupations, and that
they cannot occur to the extent that we withdraw from those occupations.
[ 3 ] But let me say something about this from experience. Many peo-
ple who devoted their energies to business and trade in the world, many
who became rich, are in heaven. There are not so many, though, who
made a name for themselves and became rich in public offi ce. This is