Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1903-12-02

NYN great majority, Of them are in ruts
One rut will hold great many.
And yet mans chance Of real success, Of OriRi
nal discovery, Of useful thinking depends on BIZ
ability to keep out OF a rut.
It is easy to tell men to get out Of rut, but it i
very hard to take the advice.
Along all the road Of life, on each side OF every
road, there are ruts worn deep from the travel o
many ages.
Our mental wheels, our little ambitions, oul
early hopes, fit so easily and naturally into these
ruts. We rebel at first, but soon we get accustOm
ed and jog along slowly, and more or less cOntented
ly, to the end.
Do yOu say that you are not in a ruti
Let US examine the statement.
What are you doing to-day that you we're not
doing year agOf
What do you know to-day that you did not know
year agOi
Have you made any strong effort to get into new
line Of work. to improve your present kind OF work
your present eficiencyf
Have you even formed any clear plan for your
own improvement, your quicker progressi
II your have you differ from the majority of your
fellow citizens, and even then it is questionable
whether behind the plan, behind the knowledge
behind the new departure there is energy sufficient
to lift you out of the particular rut in which you
travelling.
How innumerable are the ruts into which We fall
Most numerous of all the mental ruts, the sO-eall
Cu buAuAluB III WulCH We Simply AOLUW ike nucck
behind those who IN their turn have been menta
sheep before ne.
We use slang-sang is q rut-Or some cheap anC
easy expression with which we content ourselves
It is much easier to talk n rut Of slang than il
is to put our own thoughts into words OF our own.
HOE many Of our beliefs are rutsi
We accept the beliefs Of Others we give them,
perhaps, little foolish emphasis of our own, and
we mistake for our own convictions the deep rutc
worn long ago.
Our preiudices other ruts, our 'superstitiOns
still other ruts.
But do not cOnfOund those ruts OF thought and
habit which make as commonplace and retard our
growth with the broad, honest highways trampled
out smooth and level by millions OF back Of us.
The ruts represent commercial slOwness.
The broad highways are the moral truths, scien-
tifc certainties, the established iustice-ali the
valuable work Of the past.
Most Of as accept the truth and beauty Of the
teaching OF true religion. But religious truth is no
rut, when it is truth.
The ruts that engulf as and keep as back are ruts
Of laziness, convenience, ease, where we walk slow
ly, make little effort and have an excuse for so do
ing.
The man who makes little money and lacks the
character 60 keep 1t use it for those who need It,
say with 3 smile, "EaHy come easy gO''-and be is
in the rut Of the spendthriit.
The man whose nerves, artihcially driven, crave
worries them further with whisky so0thes
them abnormally with drugs or tobacco, then says
as be lifts bis glass ct the bar when he should be
asleep or working out Of bis rut, HAs we journey
through life let us live By the way''-ae is in the
rut Of self-indulgence.
The woman who sacrifices her husbands chances
IN llie pushes aside her duty as 3 mother gives up
old friendship in the crazy desire for social promi-
nence, for some little recognition from the monkey
class OF sOciety-she is il rut that keeps 90 many
women and some men from thinking at all.
Certain men and women pride themselves on their
foolish, trivial ancestry; they have some relative
with some title or some property, and instead OF
looking forward to trying 70 be something them
Selves they look back and pride themselves on what
was done before them. They are not only IN Q rut,
but they are actually walking backward il their rut
making al hope Of progress dOubly vain
just look ct yourself and ask yourself whether or
not yon are in q rnt.
Are you running along in groove without any
special effort Of your own, are you mapping out
your own road, walking mentally and physically as
an independent, self guiding creaturei
II you are in q rut get out OF It. The getting out
process is painful, il scrapes the paint Oh the wheels
It takes good deal Of tuggiDg, sometimes it even
breaks the harness. But don't stay in rut Get
out even If is takes you some time to repair dam
ages afterWard.