The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-05-09
The Secret OF Happiness.

Few people realize how much of
their happiness, such as ii is, is de-
pendent upon their work, upon the
| fact that they are kept busy and not
left to feed upon themselves. Happi-
ness comes most to people who seek
her least, and think least about her.
| It is not an object to be sought; it is
a state to be induced. It must follow
and not lead. It must overtake you,
and not you overtake it. How i'm
portant is health to happiness, yet the
best promoter of health is something
to do.
Blessed is the man who has some
congenial work, some occupation In
which he can put his heart, and
which affords complete outlet to all
the forces there are in him.
A man does not want much time to
think about himself. Too much
thought of the past and its shadows
| overwhelms; too much thought of the
present dissipates too much thought
| of the future unsettles. I find that if
| q horse stands too much in the stable,
| with too little work, he gets the crib.
bite. Too little work makes kind Of
wind sucker Of man.
recently had a letter from friend
who, from having rented his farm for
| a number Of years, had too much leis-
| ure. In this letter he writes how well
! and happy he has been during the
season-he had enjoyed existence
the gods had smiled upon him and he
had found life worth living. Then he
| told me, not by way Of explanation,
but as matter of news, that his head
man had been disabled two months
before and the care Of the farm had
deyolved upon himself; more, that he
was renovating place he had recently
bought, re-modeling the house, shap-
ing the grounds, etc. Then l knew
why he had been so unusually we'll
and happy. He had something to do
into which he could throw himself,
and it had set all the currents of his
being going again.
About the same time l had letter
from another farmer friend who told
me how busy he was, SO many things
pressing that there was need of his
going two or more directions at once,
not to get rich, but to make both ends
meet. And yet he was SO happy |!
Crherefore he was so happy, say II
Troubles and trials, he says, are few
and soon over with, while the pleas
ures are past all enumeration. "There
is 80 much to be enjoyed one never
gets to the end of it. !"
This man was too busy to be unhap-
py, he had no time for e,snui or the
blues. You see he did not over-in-
dulge in the luxury of leisure. He
was compelled to take it sparingly,
hence it always tasted good to him.
The fruit of the tree Of life which we
must eat very sparingly is leisure.
Too much of it, and it turns to gall on
our tongue. A little too much Of
those things which we think will make
us happy, and we are cloyed, and mis-
erable, indeed. The boy wouldlike to
dine entirely upon pie or sweetmeats,
and we all need the lesson that the
dessert of life is to be taken sparing-
". Because money is good, do not
therefore, think that riches are an
unmixed blessing; because leisure is
sweet to you do not therefore, imag-
inc you would be happy with nothing
to do, My correspondent was too
busy and too poor to be cloyed or
sated, too much the victim OF circum-
stances to be self-accused and .repin-
ing. he had no choice but to go on
and make the most Of things.
I overheard an old man and q young
man talking at the station. The
young man was telling of an uncle Of
bis who had sold his farm and retired
into the village. He had enjoyed 60
ing to the village, and SO now he
thought he would take his fill Of it.
But it soon cloyed upon him: He
had nothing to DO. Every night he
would say with a sigh Of relief,
"Well, another day is through" and
each morning wondered how he could
endure the day.
In every village up and down the
older parts of the country there are
several such men every day is q bur
den to them because they have moth
ing to do. They drift aimlessly up
and down the street, they loiter in
the postoHice or lounge in the grocery
store, or hotel bar-room-no comfort
to themselves and no use to the world.
With what longing they must look
upon the farmers that drive in to geta
horse shod or to do a little trading and
then drive briskly away! How the
vision of the farm, the cattle, the
sheep, the barn, the growing crops,
the early morning, the sowing, the
planting, the harvesting, etc, must
haunt them. Nothing to do! When
they we're driven and oppressed with
work they had thought, what pleasure
to be free from all this, to be at lib
erty to go and come as one liked, with
nc COWS to milk or chores to do Now
they probably have not hen or a dog
to comfort them. These men do not
live out more than half their latter
days. Nature has no use for them
and they soon drop away; whereas
their neighbors who stick to the farm
and keep the currents going, reach a
much more advanced period Of life
John Burroughs, in the Choutauquan.