More specifically than part one, Assignment Ten is a daily continuance of Assignment Four, though we do not follow it up with continual confessions as we did in Assignment Five. Many however, have found it beneficial to engage in a thorough house-cleaning yearly or bi-yearly, to help clear away any problem areas which have lingered despite our best attempts to remedy them.

This portion of the course is where we get down to the business of living. In any business, we balance the cash drawer, our check registers, and accounts at the end of each day. We put down on paper our profits and losses, our assets and liabilities, and tally them up for the day. Our goal is to have them at least come out equal and hopefully have more gains than losses. In the beginning, the reverse may very well be true, which only means we have our work cut out for us. Most all business ventures suffer losses in the beginning of getting established, working out the kinks, and learning to maximize assets. Where Assignment Four was a thorough inventory of all items we carried in stock, Assignment Ten is an inventory of daily transactions.

At the end of the day, we want to take a little quiet time alone to put down on paper how feel about our performance through that day. We want to be careful not to lean too heavily in either direction -- neither focusing so much on our good qualities that we become boastful and minimize our shortcoming; nor do we want to consentrate so much on our failures and downfalls that we wallow in guilt and self-condemnation, minimizing our accomplishments. Remember that both of these tendencies are two sides of the same token, which is false-pride. We want to learn to be more objective about ourselves, giving ourselves credit where it is due without going over-board, and then noting the areas which need improvement, also without exaggerating.

We have set out on a spiritual path and our next goal is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is a life-long journey in which we progress daily toward the mark set before us. It is a spiritual law that if we are not moving forward, we are falling backwards... one cannot stand still for very long. We must therefore watch for those plateus in which we can easily become lazy and complacent in our contented lives. Eventually, complacency and boredom will replace contentment and this is where we begin to regress. We create most of our own struggles in life through our inconsistencies, rebellion, and lack of discipline. When we reach the point of seeing little miracles in our lives on a regular basis, are having our prayers answered, and finding our wishes fulfilled, it is the common human error to give into spiritual slothfulness. Life is good, problems are minimal, we feel secure in our relationship with God, and as a result, we "forget" to pray, to read spiritual literature, to keep a watchful eye on our motives and reactions. Gradually, we find ourselves less and less content, wondering what went wrong. We may even be tempted to think this new way of life has failed us, that it only works temporarily, without any lasting effect. Here is where we must once again be honest with ourselves and know that the spiritual way of life was indeed working for us, as long as we were working at it. Maintainence of our new-found freedom, contentment, and security is just as important as the steps we took in attaining them to begin with. It is far less of a struggle for us if we simply continue doing the things which have brought us this far, rather than getting comfortable, letting our spiritual lives slid, growing uncomfortable, and then struggling to regain serenity.

Even the best built, most expensive home is only as good as the regular maintainence applied to it. We can think of our lives as a house, with each relationship, our career, and hobbies or other outside interests being the various rooms. The foundation of our house is our relationship with God. Without a solid, strong foundation built up the commitment to honor our values, morals, and loyalties, the rest of the house will soon begin to give way and crumble. And like the foundation of a house cannot be directly seen even though it is the basis for all that stands upon it, so our relationship with God is not directly visible. Yet, everything that is seen, felt, and experiences in our lives is a direct result of our spiritual condition. We must always make the foundation of our home the top priority, knowing that without a sturdy, stable foundation, the rest of the home cannot stand. Likewise, the rest of the house, which in this allegory is our personal and professional relationships, must also have regular maintainence. We work hard to build that house from the ground up, but to continue enjoying the securities and comforts of that home, we cannot neglect regular up-keep.