Daily Times

Thoughts and reflection of great men like Abraham Lincoln, serve as a great inspiration for anyone, specially diplomats and political leaders, parliamentarians and judges responsible for delivering fairness and justice. Walking with Lincoln is an interesting book by Thomas Freiling, who writes on spiritual strength from America’s favorite president. Thomas Freiling served on the staff of the US House of representatives.

The sixteenth president of the United States (1809-1865) was a deeply spiritual man, exploring the divine principles that guided him, leading to a more fulfilling life. Are you overwhelmed with trials and tragedy? Do you find yourself in the midst of a great struggle? Are you searching for purpose? Story of Lincoln is a guideline and way out and way forward. Come walk with Lincoln, and let him show you the way, writes Thomas Freiling. Personal losses and tragedy stalked Lincoln’s melancholy spirit, he had a “deep latent sadness” in his expression. “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother,” Lincoln is said to have told his personal bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon. He treasured his mother’s memory and counted it not loss, but for hope. “I remember her prayers. They always followed me,” Lincoln said. “They have clung to me all my life”. Abraham Lincoln, a man of great sorrow who endured trials and tribulations through his entire life mustered the strength to overcome his frailties and weaknesses. He was battered but not beaten. “The power of hope upon human exertion is wonderful.”

Lincoln’s lot in life war hard, strength of his endurance great. He rose from disgrace to distinction. Yet no self-help books were available for him to read. He was, literally, on his own. What was his prescription for successful living? What guided Lincoln through the turmoil and ill-fated circumstances? Where did his inner strength come from? Famed Philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr studied the life of Lincoln and concluded that his “religious convictions were superior in depth and purity to those, not only of political leaders of his day, but of religious leaders of the era” Many research studies and biographies address Lincoln’s faith and spirituality. They don’t skirt the issue; although each one provides a somewhat different perspective, similar themes begin to emerge.

A famous quote from Abraham Lincoln is “with the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die” Humor was indeed a powerful force against the onslaught of conflict and despair. It is a powerful force we all need

Lincoln was a uniter, not a divider. Magnetism of Lincoln’s faith transcends trivialities that divide people. On a cold winter night in 1862, Lincoln’s secretary found him pacing the floor. He had been awake all night. The union armies had just been devastated, losing 26,000 soldiers in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Thousands of wives and mothers mourned. The president was anguished; his eyes were said to be “deathly”. He paced back and forth, asking himself over and over, what has God put me in this place for? Lincoln found the peace that only comes from God. Lincoln understood that only by laying down his life could he find it. He also knew that only in God’s presence could one find the peace needed to overcome the overwhelming sense of fear and distress that often comes from living in a war-torn world. He put his complete trust in God. Abraham Lincoln said once, “We live in the midst of alarms; anxiety beclouds our future; we expect some new disaster with each newspaper we read.” “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go” “What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself”

As a candidate, Lincoln was anything but ostentatious. Amazingly, he made only one public appearance during the presidential campaign. “It has been my purpose, since I have never been placed in this position, to make no speeches,” Lincoln said plainly from his home in Springfield. When newspaper tried to inject excitement into the race, the bluntly remarked, “It is a great folly to attempt to make anything out of me or my early life”. Meanwhile, his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas, fought tenaciously. Douglas towered over Lincoln in fame and credentials. He patronized Lincoln, calling him “kind and amiable, but totally apprehensive”. A Stalwart partisan and the most powerful legislator in Washington, Douglas has already run for president twice, barely losing contests to Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. He was known as the “little giant” for his sarcastic and scathing style. But on November 6, 1860 voters dismissed Douglas’s style for what Phineas Gurley, Chaplain of the United States Senate, called Lincoln’s “calm and abiding confidence in the overruling provinces of God”. Voters swarmed the polls in record numbers (eight of ten Americans voted) and handed Lincoln a stunning victory. Lincoln won 180 electoral votes to 12 for senator Douglas. William Lee Miller suggested, “It can be said that by the formal test of offices held and great deeds accomplished, he was the least qualified man ever elected, perhaps ever nominated by either party”.

Neighbours in Springfield were flabbergasted. To them, he was a country lawyer who spent as much time hauling his sons up and down the street in a little wagon as he did litigating. Springfield gossip even went so far as to call him henpecked. One astonished neighbour reportedly asked, “Abe Lincoln for President of the United States? Can it be possible? A man that buys a ten-cent stamp beefsteak for breakfast, and carries it home itself.” Lincoln unwittingly unlocked the door to true greatness through humility. Lincoln served faithfully in the small things. He did not blister his way to the top, and when he was asked to lead, he responded like David, Who am I, O Lord ‘God’? A famous quote from Abraham Lincoln is “with the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die” Humor was indeed a powerful force against the onslaught of conflict and despair. It is a powerful force we all need. Humor was the spoonful of sugar that enabled Lincoln to convince difficult people to swallow the difficult things during difficult times. It is important preparing for your destiny. Lincoln had once said “I will prepare and some day my chance will come”. That chance came for peace, that chance enabled to end slavery. The chance came for equality of opportunity and glory of the United States of America. America has to live up to the promise of fairness and justice.

The writer is a former director, National Institute of Public Administration (NTPA) Government of Pakistan, a political analyst, a public policy expert and a published author