I have already said now you must be an absolute egoist, a good egoist. For the sake of future altruism. Today you cannot give much to others, and if you try to, you will not be able to change yourself, you will remain what you are. You must make the sacrifice of giving to another. But you must give yourself your word that you will make it up to him in future tenfold. So you compromise. You have two clues, two principles; satisfaction in yourself and promise to pay back much more later on. Outwardly, one plays one's role, according to what the situation demands, and inwardly one does not identify. If you are working inwardly, Nature will help you. For the man who is working, Nature is a sister of charity; she brings him what he has need of for his work. If you need money for your work, even if you do nothing to get it, the money will come to you from all sides. In another case, Nature will cut off all a man's resources if it is necessary for his work.
 

[To another student]: Do you understand? For instance, had you had money a certain evening, you would have gone to a cafe but having none, you stayed at home and worked. Nature is more intelligent than you; she knows better than you which are the best conditions for your work; and if you work, Nature calls on conscious spirits who will arrange for you the conditions you need. For ordinary man, for the man who does not work, there is nothing but chance. But for the man who works, Nature gives him through conscious spirits all that he needs.[1]

 

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[1] G.I. Gurdjieff, 32 Meetings in Paris, Meeting Twenty, January 16th, 1944, originally printed in Patterson’s Voices in the Dark https://gurdjieffclub.com/en/knigi-besedy-s-uchenikam/ [accessed 19.02.2021]

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