And now, This I Believe, the living philosophies of thoughtful men and women, presented in the hope they may strengthen your beliefs so that your life may be richer, fuller, happier. Here is Edward R. Murrow.

This I Believe. Clyde Rogers is a singer, actor, musician and entertainer. His records as featured vocalist with Freddy Martin, Kay Kyser and Russ Morgan are known to millions. Now living in Hollywood, he is a voice teacher and tenor soloist in his church choir. Here now are the beliefs of Clyde Rogers.

My belief is a declaration of dependence. I believe that there is no living thing that is self-sufficient. From the tiniest living organism to God’s most complex and, as far as we are concerned, His most wonderful creation, everything needs help of one sort or another. Every new organism is dependent on something or someone for survival. It may seem that as it grows, it becomes independent, but I do not believe that there is any living thing that ever reaches the point where it can go it alone.

The realization of this fact was brought home to me rather forcefully several years ago.

I used to think that a mature man derived security and contentment from his ability to care for his family and himself, to provide the necessities of life and to protect his loved ones from harm and danger. I thought a laboring man derived his security from a strong, healthy body which would be able to accomplish these things physically, that a wealthy man could buy the things he needed, that a highly intelligent man could always think himself through. But just when I was successful enough to begin to feel this security, I began to realize that it wasn’t there. Although I had a wonderful wife and a great many friends, I began to feel a decided loneliness inside. This feeling grew until it became almost unbearable. I realized that I was building up to a nervous breakdown.

The next thing I realized was that I needed help. I tried doctors and friends, but the condition seemed to be aggravated instead of relieved. As a last resort, I, like most people, turned to God for help. I prayed fervently that He might help me to find peace of mind. And I promised Him that I would never forget it if He would help me. He did help me. My relief was immediate. True to His promise that He will enter into whomever will open the door to His knock, I was no longer alone inside, for Christ came into my heart. And He and I can stand against the world.

My next realization was that if I was going to be worthy of this wonderful help, I must pass it on to others. I realized that I was not a receptacle into which all the good things of life are poured, but instead a channel through which they must flow. The more that flows through a channel, the larger it becomes. If nothing flows out of it, it is destroyed, just as all lakes are eventually self-destroyed.

As I began looking outside myself instead of in, I noticed that almost everyone had some sort of problem. Some were very slight; others were really heavy burdens. I began to interest myself in the way people reacted to their troubles.

I noticed that some of those with the heaviest burdens seemed bothered the least; and, invariably, if I looked farther, I found that those people were more concerned about others than they were about themselves; and, inversely, those who cried the loudest had no concern for anyone but themselves.

Putting this observation to practical use got me involved in church work, which I found to be a source of great satisfaction and interest and which brought me into contact with some wonderful people. They were folks who had learned to be happy and at peace without having much in the way of worldly possessions.

As a child, it was very difficult for me to understand how it could be more blessed to give than to receive. But there is nothing more blessed than peace of mind, and the more I give to others, the more peace I have and the less alone I feel.

That was the personal philosophy of Clyde Rogers, singer and entertainer of Hollywood, California.