Evening star., 1908-01-26
Sunday Morning Talk
The Things That Really Matter.

4uC y lAiAS,S 4udL hGdlly MdLIeT.
\ young woman artist submitted a dc.
sign to a periodical. After due considera-
ton the design was returned with a
courteous note suggesting wherein it
was defective. Instead of being dis
| heartened the girl tried again and when
returning the modified design to the edi-
| tor wrote as follows: Papa used to try
to train us to look below the surface to
the essential things beneath that really
nfattered and sometimes the reason why
design is not accepted gives me an idea.
l could not have learned in any other
way. / don't think that any artist VINO
really loves her work can afford to neg
lect an honest criticism from any one
who has had experience"
Wise father! Fortunate daughter,
Nv hat better thing can a parent do for
a child than to teach him to care for the
zig things of life and to brush aside as
he would gnatS and flies the non-eSsen-
al things that might easily become nui-
sances and burdens. 4 prolific source of
trouble is the disposition to magnify tri-
hes. | have seen d breakfast .->ole trans
formed from peaceful company into
warning camps over an issue which,
when simmered down to its real proper
lions, could hardly be seen with the
naked eye. 1t may have been as small
a matter as the question whether a ccr-
tain neighbor wore silk or a derby
known communities to be equally excited
over as diminutive an issue as to whether
| the school teacher ought to choose her
own boarding place or TO accept the place
| TO which the authorities assigned her. l
| have known churches almost rent in
twain over the question of introducing
new hymn books or changing the hour
| Of a certain service. And 1 have known
multitudes of individual lives that have
grown narrow, weak and Grabbed be-
cause they got into the habit of con-
.uSingthe non-essential with the essential,
The trivial with the important, the tenn
poral with the eternal. After all, the
things that do not matter are pretty in
consequential beside the things that do
matter. For example:
Clothes and food do not matter. or
course, we must dress decently and in
good taste and we must have a suffi-
cheney of substantial. paatabie food. But
The frills and the fancy dishes are not
worth enough to justify spending long
days over them. Imagine Socrates or
Marcus Aurelius or Emerson or any
other great soul much concerned over the
size of his wardrobe or the number of
courses at dinner. Recognition on the
part of others does not matter. No one
need deSpise popularity, provided 1t has
not been attained at the sacrifice of ones
conviction, but If we happen to be left
out of this or that evening company, or
If nobody pays any attention to the good
things we think we have done, why
should we sulk or fume?
Whether or not we have our own way
does not matter. The proper ongoing of
the universe does not depend on our
little schemes and ambitions coming to
their realization We may stake a good
deal on them and believe 1t would be
lastly better for the home, the neighbor-
hood. the church, the state if they were
carried out. but maybe we have dis
lorted view of our own Importance.
What does matter then? Our work
matters much. 1t is of supreme imDor-
tance that we should do the days as
signment faithfully and cheerfuly.
Friends matter. We must have a few
who trust and love us in whom we may
confide. for whom We may give our
selves unsparingly with no thought of re-
ward other than the deepening of the
friendship.
A pure soul matters infinitely. Some
how we must make our ego as fine and
true as possible. The trappings of life
will drop off in due time, one by one,
but God and our souls remain. WHAT
JOY to be able to say then and to be
able also to say now,
am the master Of my fate.
l am the captain of my soul.
THE PARSON.