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Welcome to Our Sunday Talks,

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an exclusive series for the

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patrons of the Inspirational Living

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Podcast. Today's talk

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was edited and adapted from

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New Thought Common Sense and

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What Life Means to Me

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by Yellow Wheeler Wilcox. Published

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in 1908. A

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most beautiful calendar opens with the

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lines, I'll not

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easily offend nor be

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easily offended. What's amiss

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I'll try to mend and

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endure what can't be mended. One

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could hardly start the day with

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a better resolution than what is

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contained in those lines. To

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not easily offend is

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to be continually considerate. We

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should all strive to think before

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speaking, to restrain the

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careless word and the

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useless criticism, to forego

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the pleasure of a life when

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it would fall as ridicule on

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sensitive ears, and to

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avoid the little sins of omission which

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mar friendship. The unanswered

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letter, the unreturned call,

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the unspoken word of approval

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or congratulation for achievements,

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and the unoffered word of sympathy

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for trouble or loss. Then

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to even more admirable still, it

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seems to me, is the resolve

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nor be easily offended. One

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of the most expensive luxuries of life,

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and the least profitable as an

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investment for happiness, is

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the friend who is easily offended, and

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whom you are forever apologizing. the

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mistakes you did not mean to make,

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and the slights you did not know you

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had given until they were

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forced upon your unwilling attention. Easily

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offended nature is usually

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the selfish and self-centered nature,

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yet it may be found too with

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those who have been neglected in early

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youth and who have formed

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the habit of self-depreciation. I

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know a successful and broad-minded

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businessman who is hypersensitive

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regarding the small things of

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life, and who imagine

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he is being neglected and slighted if

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a friend passes him absorbed in

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thought with only a passing

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greeting. But this man

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had been an orphan, living

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a lonely childhood among people who

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fell in clothed him, but

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who oftentimes made him realize

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that he was not an important

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factor in their lives. So

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he has shaped his mind of gloomy

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thoughts of neglect, and

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after he became important to the lives

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of many people and

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a man of large affairs and wide interests,

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still his brain continued to work in

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the old groove, and he

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was easily offended. More

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frequently, however, this fault

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is associated with the selfish and

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the vain, who find

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no happiness unless given the center

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of life's stage, with

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the full force of the spotlight

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thrown upon them. If

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but one individual in the audience looks

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at any other of God's company for

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a brief moment, they are

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offended and want to resign from

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the role and compel the

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curtain to come down. Love

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indeed is life for such people, and

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being with such people. Therefore

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the motto which bids us to

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be not easily offended should

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be written in neon letters and hung

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where all may read. You

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can help sweeten the world for yourself

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and for others if you

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live true to this motto. Put

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it into practice first of all, where

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every great virtue and accomplishment

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should be practiced in

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the home. As a

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spouse, child sibling or parent, be

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not easily offended. The

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touchy person can destroy an

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Eden almost as easily

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as can the serpent. There

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is usually a lamentable lack of a

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sense of humor in a

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person who is easily offended. They

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take every small action, every

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look and every failure to speak

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as a serious intent on the

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part of somebody to wound their

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feelings. Oh, how

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they suffer. Yet how

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they make others suffer by

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their silly self-consciousness and

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eternal sensitiveness. They

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will tell you that because they give

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so much and are so unselfish, they

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suffer more keenly from perceived

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slights. But this is not

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true of love. The

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really loving nature is so

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occupied with giving that it does

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not find time to be offended

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over small neglects. The

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loving nature is not touchy. It

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is not suspicious. It

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is not easily offended. It

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is cheerful. It is generous.

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It is optimistic. It

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is amiable. And these

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are qualities which help men and women

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build earthly heavens and

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family and friends who are true, loyal

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and admiring. So

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be not easily offended. 3D

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corporate megastores led by Walmart

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and Target are pushing for long

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cameras to take away your hard-earned

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cash back and travel points to

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line their pockets. The Durbin Marshall

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Credit Card Bill would enact harmful

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credit card routing mandates that would

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end credit card rewards as we

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know it. If you love your

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credit card rewards, tell your lawmakers,

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hands off, my rewards. Tell them

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to oppose the Durbin Marshall Credit Card

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Bill.