Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-24
SundayMorning Talk
On Letting Ones Self Go.

Take palmost any one of the recen
books on psychology and you will fine
such expressions as these: Let yourself
go. ''unclasp the machinery" ''relievt
the surface tension What do these
phrases mean? Simply that in the judg
ment of some of our most thoughtful mer
the time has come to make an earnest
plea for the expression of personality fr
terms OF the individual life. They thinl
that most of us imprison within our
selves forces and capacities, enthusiasm
and aspirations which If only allowed out
let would increase our happiness and eff
fectiveness In the world.
Their message to us is In substance
You are too self-contained. too precise
too formal. too proper and conventional
Let yourself go now and then give your
real self a better chance
1t Is easy to understand what has
brought about such a status as this. The
conditions OF modern life make for the
repression of personality. What scope
for the exercise of it has the man who
stands all day long at machine. or who
does some other purely mechanical task
which he has been doing for perhaps ter
or twenty years?
Moreover. the human congestion r
many communities makes for the same
result. There are almost too many Of
us in some parts of the world. We ge,
in one another's way. And because We
are so close to one another most OF
the time we are often forced to hold our
selves within conventional restraints tc
be polite rather than sincere, to pare
down the expression of our views to ac-
cord with the crowd to conform, because
of the powerful influence OF close ant
constant contact, to other peoples ways OF
doing things.
Our villages used to abound in odd
eccentric characters, whose Shrewd OBJ
servations delighted the admiring circle
of listeners at the country store. You
find few. rare survivals here and there
but as modern life becomes more intense
and crowded they become scarcer and you
know not where to look for them in the
long, monotonous rows of dwellings in city
streets.
Nevertheless. the play of personalit,
must not be lost in the twentieth century
and need not be. There is something pre-
ciouS and personal In each of us, tina,
we owe it to ourselves and the world &c
cultivate, in the face even Of great oh.
Stacles. However big crowd may be
you never see in it two faces exactly alike
Nor are two souls precisely alike. There
is something distinct in every one of us
which must be evoked. and the more of i,
that can be brought into play the richer
our life becomes and the more we serve
mankind. The most interesting character
in Gilbert Parker's thrilling novel 1.-The
Weavers,'' is Lacey, the genial ebulien.
up, and his merry salutation. Give my
love to the girls We can pardon a
good deal of crudity and kddishness in a
man who Is putting his best self into his
work and giving his best self to others.
Even toilers with their hands from morn
till even. even bookkeepers, who do moth
ing but add up long columns of figures
even home makers who drudge away at
apparently endless tasks. can find outlet
for their personal qualities if they will
When the machine stops for the night
they can hasten home. toss the baby in
their arms and expend little concrete
affection on the wife. They can use the
chinks of time in such ways that that
which Is best and most personal In them
shall be finding nourshment and exercise
Perhaps also. in their daily labor, how
ever monOtonOuS, they can bring to bear
reserves of personality. And even In the
monotony of grinding toll great thoughts
of God. duty and immortality may flood
the soul and unlock closed treasure
houses of feeling and power. And so |
say again. "Unclasp the machinery: let
yourself go. THE PARSON.