Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-11-07
THE BRIGHT SIDE.
THE HAPPY FACULTY OF LOOKING
ON THE BEST SIDE OF LIFE.

Too Many People Allow Themselves to he
Weighed Down by the Daily Cares of
Life That Must BE Met and Fail to SEQ
the Pleasant Things Near BY.
Everyt6 ing has at least good side to
it. and sooner or later some one will be
able to see it. 1t is happy fortune to
be able easily TO see what is good. though
do not believe in shutting our eyes to
the evil. 1 have a friend who never secs
the evil until it overwhelms her. She
considers all things to be well enough at
least and so has no foresight to ward off
disaster. This is certainly curious dis
position and not n good one for those
who have the care of families. What l
do mean is that it is capital thing to
see the good that really is in all things.
said to my neighbor. who is deaf in
one ear, 1t is pity, my dear; is there
no remedy?' Il don't think there is"
she said, but then there is a great bless
ing in it, for have learned to sleep with
my good ear to the pillow, and so no noise
can disturb me-" 1t was n curious illus
tration of how one may use a depriva-
tion and make it 4 real advantage. 1t is
a great art TO find out all the good there
is in life. Emerson says, DO not dilate
on your private wrongs and personal
ills" But no one ever becomes tedious
by dilating ON her privileges and joys.
The longer live the moro l find that
most of our troubles are imaginary.
There are half dozen things We have
to learn, and many never do learn them.
One of these Is that We have will power
to control q vast deal that We sit down
underneath. Life has no blessing great
er than its antagonists. Differ as we
may from professional faith curists,
they have great truth in store, and l
wish they may have vast influence in
reConstructinG sentiment. There Is no
need of being an extremist in belief, vet
il is a fact that We have cultivated a
kind of moral cowardice about our dis
eases. believe they are right that we
are vastly more powerful than we have
supposed ourselves 10 be.
But am broader believer than they,
for l am confident we cannot only cry
down and out" TO half our physical
ails, hut to a large proportion OF our
troubles and what we call our bOthers.
| And that Is Just the meaning Of hfe-it
/ is a series of defeats or of victories over
| small affairs. The habit Of making
/ much of petty evils indicates defeat.
/ Many woman is thoroughly whipped
I by her ordinary household duties, as
many man is whipped ont by weeds
/ and thistleS. She never can face day
with smile and a strong will She
does her duty as task and never as a
| JOY. This hefts our duties down; the
| opposite way lightens them.
/ ifa eyfrN-Ivbarfs has u 1NsTr.sr- S11a -, 2
than we are always willing to confess or
able often to see. Our choicest gifts and
blessings lie just the other side Of our
saddest moments. II seems like noun
tain climbing to get view Of sunrise,
but we are willing 10 toll hard TO get IL
the mountain top. 1t pays not only al
the top, but all the way up. l have a
| delicious feru bordered glen that every
summer l visit and do not mind the
bushes that tear nor the extremely hard
climbing to get in and to get out. All
the lovely brook at the bottom, and the
pebbly island i'll that brook. and the old
moss covered beech logs, and the hank.
of creeping hemlock." 1t pays. Every
step pays. come hack full Of rest, no,
of WEAKNESS. Of JOYS that sparkle and
run like the brook itself. Last summer
itHAh W I'M AA4t All llAN4EA@Alt ltNNtA al
nature in:o my pet rlvinc, and she being
a good scientist found in an hour search
five sorts Of salamanders.
If We live widely and think nobly auj
study what the world Is we find thai
the cheapest and toughest concealS gram
facts that make character and JOY for Us
The world Is a ready spread feast for gu,
senses and intellect. But there are races
that will not eat eggs, and there 1T,
others that Will not use milk So Their,
Is a possibility of not seeing tine h,S
things about us and hearing the fines
harmonieS. The best question one car
ask of herself Is: Are you getting tn,
best Of the world about Won: l hav,
heard the narrowest kind of men preach
ing on the parable of the prodi-al sou
not knowing that they Were thcms,lvt=
feeding ON husks-the poorest hu>k~ al
thought and manhood.
suppose. in fact. there Is 4 good sid,
to everything. only am not able 10 ~,
it on the occasion. The best effect q
studying history l. L. teach u to lCOl
back at events some time after their O.
currence, when we are almost surely
struck by the real advantage that come
out Of what at the time seemed totally
evil. There Is no custom but that Amer
lean character has been made stronger
by the great fight with and victory oveI
slavery. There Is Just As much good IL
cumulating from the fact that intcmPcr
ance is sohard an evil toeradicatc. Har
riet Martinedu says. The greatest ad
vantage Of long Efc-at least TO thos.
who know how and wherefore 10 live
is the opportunity which It gives OF SC
ing moral experiments worked out. o
being present At the frUitins Of sociG
causes and Of thus gaining 4 kind o
wisdom which in ordinary CASES seem
reserved for future life" This Is fairly
what any one may reap from life, tha
apparent evil Is or may X made 10 bc
come good.-Mary E. Spencer in ST
Louis GlohC-DemoCrat.