Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-09-20
LOOK OUT AND NOT IN.
How to Cure Self consciousness and tho
Evil Disposition 1t Produces.

How to Cure Self consciousness and tho
Evil Disposition 1t Produces.
There are great many people who
are so intent on seeing the stars at the
bottom OF the well that they are obliv-
ious of the splendid procession in the
heavens; who are so given to the habit |
of finding all truth within themselves
that they miss the great movement
and inspiration of the larger life
without. There is kind of introspec-
ton which is thoroughly healthful and
profitable, which brings man to self
knowledge and makes clear to him the
strong and weak points of his charac
ter. This kind of introspection is one
OF the processes by which men reach a
well-developed and harmonious life.
But there is another kind of intro
spection which is thoroughly I'M
healthy and demoralizing; a habit
into which many fall unconsciously,
and which grows by what 1t feeds up
on. In sound life self-consciousness
is not predominant mood. Such
life is SO engrossed in dealing with the
questions that are presented to it by
the opportunities and duties of each
day, and by the scope and necessity of
its work, that it has small time for
measuring its gifts and estimating its
resources in comparison with those in
the possession of other men. One of
the most unhappy men in the world
is he who, instead of measuring
has strength against his work,
Is always measuring it against
the strength of other men.
This habit, as soon as formed, becomes
tyrannical, develops jealousy, discon-
tent, morbidness, and brings forth in
the end almost every form of mean
ness which can be expressed in
action.
DR.. Hale's motto thoroughly prac-
ticed is an immense aid to moral and
intellectual health. 1t frees one from
envy, hatred and malice, and most of
the uncharitableness which is the bane
of society. The man of morbid self
consciousness rarely sees any thing in
a pure atmosphere; acts and words
come to him through distorted me-
dunn. He can look at nothing apart
from himself. He studies his friends
as if they might at any moment be-
come his enemies; weighing every
word, scrutinizing every action, prone
to constant misinterpretation. He can
not bear that any one else should re-
ceive the attention which he thinks
ought to be exclusively his own. II
that which he thinks ought to be CIV
en- to him is given to another, he be-
comes cynical, and declares that there
is no such thing as true friend
ship in the world. He makes no al
lowance for the breadth of other mems
interests, the largeness of their SYM
pathies, or the extent of their needs Of
companionship. Instead of asking
himself whether he can supply all
that his friend needs, he assumes that
every need satisfied apart from himself
is sign of conscious disloyalty. Such
men are to be found in every COM
munity, and their presence involves a
waste of energy which they have no
right to exact They can never be
approached as men of more heath.
full nature, by the presentation
of the principles or aims of a
plan in which their cooperation is
solicited; they must always be care.
fully studied, and their prejudices,
animosities and morbid self-conscious.
ness carefully taken into account.
One of the first elements of growth
is to get rid of an undue sense of per.
sonality; is to be able to sink ones
personality in the consideration Of
larger and more important interests
To be always thinking of how ques
ton is going to affect one personally
or how other men are going to treat
one, is to lose grip on the real interests
of life and to put ones self in falls,
attitude toward them. A man ough
to have too much self-respect TO b.
continually asking himself the ques
ton whether other men are giving hin
his due. Not until one gets rid OF TIL,
morbid seif-eonsciousness can he trul,
enjoy any thing which life has to offer
The charm of friendship lies in the alb
sence of this spirit of demand
ing and measuring, lies in th'
Inconsistencies with which ont
gives and receives. A man ought tt
esteem himself worthy of the bes
friends, and then cease to think abou
the matter. Scarcely less vicious an(
lemoralizing is the habit, which grow
out of morbid elf-consciousness, o
measuring every thing out of our owl
standards, and demanding that all mel
shall conform to our own habits ant
meet our own self-created require
ments. This is large world, and it
life is so vast and varied that the mai
who tries to measure it by his owl
yardstick discloses only his own little
ness. One comes to understand lif
thoroughly and to enter into it health
fully only when he makes large allow
ance for the standards of other men
and comedies in his action as we'll a
his thought that other methods an,
points of view are quite as likely to b.
sound and true as his own.
There is altogether too much busi
ness done with the yardstick; too wild
an application of local standards t
the activities of the world. What
needed is truer perspective. large
comprehension of the currents of lif
and Of the immense variety of its dc
velopment Travel is the best educa
ton out Of provincialism. Unfortr
nately. all men can not travel. 1t
possible however for all IN cultivat