Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-12-29
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Sympathy! Real sympathy! There
are so many of us who feel that to re-
ceive sympathy is as humliating as to
receive MINIS, TO be in need of IL some-
what like being candidate for the
nlmshouse.
Mol We refuse, with heads high and
spirit up, to accept sympathy, but we
will give IT,. What contradiction!
says the Philadelphia Times. What a
real insult lies hid in such gift! To
dare give under tho cloak Of kindness
to another that which IL given us we
| would feel We could not accept without
| loss Of self-rospect.
Tho only-soul capable Of giving SYM
pathy because it only can feel sym
pathy, is the one who In trouble turns
naturally to receive like gift from its
fellows as u right. And argue rs you
will, from such source the kindly APP
| probation of our trouble, or perhaps
only Of its effect, isineyer offensive.
| But there are kinds of sympathy that
are fatal. The sympathy that We hoard
for ourselves, that should be showered
| upon others, turned back again in
\ poison to us. The number OF nervous
invalids in the world in largely made
up of self-sympathy. The pessimist is
always selfish in regard to giving kindly
thought to others. The men and women
who never get. just what they want,
for whom the world will not smile, nor
tho sun shine, they are the people SO.
busy in being sorry for themselves that
they fail to see that by comparison they
are really fortunate.
Bad as such state of self-sym-
pathizing Is, yet 1t is not hopeless, for
it is so !glaring fault that we may
hope to have it pointed out by our
"best friend" or even slowly to become
awarded of ii ourselves.
There is, however. q third distinct
kind of sympathy purely physical. 1T
ID that of one part of tho body with
another, and as surely as self-sympathy
destroys mental health SO this physical
sympathy will initiate against the
wellrbeing of the body.
Have you ever hurt your foot, your
ankle, knee or hip, done anything that
necessitated limping for a time, and
! found how quickly the whole body will
acquire new habit Of action, how
! hardly, II at all, tyou succeed in re-
turning to your normal gait and poiseY
Ii through any cause whatever we
begin to ."save" one member OR part
, of the body we unconsciously keep up
, the habit long after the necessity IL
, gone, II,
1t takes heroic measures to overcome
this physical sympathy. We must let
the hurt part suffer just a little instead
of infiicting unnatural conditions on
all the we'll arts that are doing for the
time being extra work. Why have q
!, stiff right side because you have y
), lame left hip?
1t Is u matter of control, We may
}, learn to give true sympathy to Others
!, by realizing that we, too, must in the
: final extremity turn ourselves and ask
!, ) for the ''cup of cold water" We may
y crush out self-synIpathy by giving, moi
boarding, and we may acquire inst
/, and proper muscular balance in this
! respect If only we win put a little
= thought upon the subject and q little
;, will into the practice, knowing that III
= result we will acquire one of the
= sweetest graces, both of mind and
: body, and benefit not only others, bui
) ourselves.