The Washington herald., 1910-01-09
by THE OPTIMIsT.


or exists you must be first certain that
fl does grow and does live.
We are ell certain that optimism grows.
Have we not had proof Of It right here
under our very eyes for the past year2
Have we not seen this club develop from
a mere handful Of helpful followers Of
the light OF optimism into the large and
enthusiastic organization it has now be
ccme? I do not know exactly how many
Of the members who are active at pres
ent were members of the original club
and had the honor of contributing to its
first texts. but do know that there are
a great many Of you who have been
faithful for a good many months.
A most encouraging and uplifting
thought in connection with the growth
Of tho club which has kept pace with the
growth OF optimism generally is that
material growth, by which I mean
growth In the number OF members, IS
not the only line along which we have
expanded I am happy TO say that as
ISOLATION with optImists has caused
growth in grace in each and every one OF
US. that the spiritual and mental devel-
opment that has been the result of that
association is something that we can
never part with.
Our optimism has become a second ma
ture to US. and having come up from
small and timid beginning. is now the
moving impulse of our lives, the depend
able part of our characters, on which we
rely every day for strength and support.
This great. strong help which we have
raised up 10 stand by US is the result OF
faith in the great good in everything
and a loving fellowship with each other.
1 want every one Of you TO feel this as
keenly as I do and realize that all our
work for the past year has resulted in
much great and enduring good; that We
have been character building all this
while: that we have been shedding q
pure. sweet light OF hope and cheer over
the dark and dreary spots Of LIES path
way
Many topics Of happiness and improve
ment have been touched upon, though
perhaps but lightly, as We have passed
on TO the next. but by each one some
seed has been dropped that has taken
root IN the heart, and We can look now
upon a flourishing harvest of enlighten-
ment and Joy.
Success, however. in the past need
not move US TO relax our vigilance in the
cause OF optimism. Optimism grows and
gTOws II has reached a gratifying but
not satisfying dimension. There is al
ways room for improvement and the
higher up we go in the cause the more
hot 5-,e4 aT-Fr,
a beginning and that the future Is bright
with opportunities for self-help, the bet
terment OF our own natures, and the
chance TO aid one another.
All healthy growth depends on Guilt
walton. As we noted last week, when we
discussed the way to begin right. the de-
slrable products OF the garden Of the
soul cannot grow without fostering; they
must be carefully separated and removed
from the evil influences in the beginning
so that they will themselves become the
dominating qualities.
The reason. then, that optimism grows
is that It is cared for and nurtured by
love and helpfulness. The soil in which
optimism is planted is capable Of raising
great crops. BY every deed Of kindness
by every smile OF cheer or helpful word
we water the roots OF optimism and
make it grow.
Our duty is TO aid in the spread and
the growth Of our optimistic beliefs. In
lass we do this we do not aid IN the ad-
vanoement OF the world, and every one
wants to feel that he contributes some
share. however small It may be, to the
general welfare, We are working as a
body for the uplift and for the further
growth of optimism.
II is a comfort TO watch the develop
ment Of something in which you take q
deep and abiding interest. a child that
you are training with love and care IN
folds like a beautiful flower. and YOU
feel that strong sense OF responsibility
increase day by day as you note the
changes. You see traits OF character ap-
pear which give you great pleasure 70
develop or you may be called upon 10
check some tendency that IS not for the
good of that child or is apt to be harm
ful to It's future welfare.
Or perhaps you are responsible for
some undertaking, a task that need not
be great in order to be OF Importance,
but which you are wrapped up in with all
your heart and soul. Do you not strain
every fiber OF your being TO make that
undertaking success? Do you not sac
rifics all that you have and wish for
more power TO put into the beautiful
growth which is coming up under your
hands?
A painter at work on some fine picture
or a sculptor fashioning an image of
beauty out OF lump OF clay must have
these sensations. Forgetful OF self and
unconscious Of hardship or loss, he works
and works on the great thing that IS to
represent his creative power.
Mankind likes 20 see growth. The
stunted and the warped things are cast
out and in their place we find at the Ill
innate reckoning only the good and the
beautiful. There is so little satisfaction
in the halfway performance of a task.
There is less shame attached 20 failure,
when the work has been honest and full
of purpose, than there Is In the. product
Of a half-hearted endeavor
We all take pride in the growth OF op-
tlmism, and it must be the continuation
OF that pride and an ever-growing inter-
est in the spread Of a doctrine so uni
yersally needed which Is to keep the good
work going. Optimism can help every
body. No one may say that he does not
need TO follow the principles OF right
living or that he can live needless of the
benefits OF cheerful and a hopeful dis
position. The outlook upon life depends
so largely upon that which is within
that Is must be hardy Individual indeed