The Washington herald., 1910-06-26
Rx THE oPTINIIsT.

Well, my friends, you will see by the
above that I made no mistake in appoint
ing a leader for to-day. The new idea
has been fruitful of much approval and
1 hope that it will continue 10 be well
liked
ike the idea that adaptsbllity Is prac-
teal tact It suits the situation, so far
as optimists are concerned in a nutshell.
The average optimist likes 20 be thought
adaptable. though he abhors the Idea
that he is vacilating or undecided in his
views and certainly no optimist Is, so
far as I can End out.
The adaptable man, however, is the
man, or the woman, too-for We mustn't
forget our lady membership is at home
in any company. Such a person can
interest himself in the pursuits of 9TH
ers, without sacrifice OF self: he can win
the confidence and respect of others by
meeting them on what is 20 them familiar
ground.
The missionary. for instance, who
works among a certain class OF people,
does not try all at once TO lift them TO
his level Of intelligence OF thinking In
stead, he goes down among them, learns
their joys and their sorrows, participates
in their life so far as possible. and little
by littla brings them UPWARD 10 the light.
The optimist. like the missionary. does
not. in these days of Independent think
ing. adopt the stand and deliver" atti-
tude He does not say. sternly. to his
neighbor. Become an optimist. and at
once" Can you imagine the reply he
would receive? The way to go about it
is 10 adapt yourself TO this mans way
of living. see life from his angle II pos
sible. II is in this way that you can
point out to him his error
The trouble with most reformers is that
they cannot appreciate the point Of view
OF those whom they would reform: they
cannot. as t we're, get in under the skin
OF their neighbor. II you would be 2
leader of men. a swayer of mems I'M
pulses and thoughts you must adapt
yourself 10 whatsoever company and
class in which you find yourself II is.
as our leader to-day says, practical
tact"-the philosophy Of entering with.
oct hypocrisy Or sham, into the interests
of other people. absorbing the good you
can from them, and giving them Of the
benefits you have TO offer.
You need not commit yourself 10 an
other mans ideals Just because you lis
ten TO him when he expounds them.
Adaptability does not prove you 10 be
of unstable mind-it proves. on the con-
trary, that you have good control of
yourself-that you are sure of your
ground and have the excellent intention
OF holding il.
There are some people so narrow and
so restricted IN their views that their
minds run perpetualIy in one groove.
From these persons rise, sometimes,
giants OF achievement, They have pound
ed and hammered their way through life.
hewing closely to the line Of particular
endeavor, But they haven't really lived.
They haven't drunk at the fountain of
human fellowship-other folks lives are
of no interest to them: TIE haven't time
10 give and take the milk of human kind
ness They are simply machines.
BE adaptable be plant Remember the
fable Of the oak and the reeds The oak
braved the tempest and was uprooted
and destroyed; the reeds bent low and
allowed It 10 sweep over them, and to-
gether lived to weather many a gale
They acted in unison and In harmony;
defed not the inevitable. Their real
strength was not destroyed. but it was
simply used 20 the best advantage.
Give of yourself that you may receive
CT others. Sel6shness and clannishness
are for fools The wise man loves his
fellows. lives among them. and is blessed
IN his adapIability.
One of the members writes me that the
idea Of having a leader each Sunday is
approved by a good many of the opti-
mlsts but makes the suggestion that the
leaders name be not announced in ad-
vance, making the leadership a contest
open for all.
desire to explain that this was my
first thought in this regard, but since
the beauty of your expressions each
week lies In the widely scattered sources
from which quotations are gathered. and
in the short. crisp. original sayings,
would not risk making ali the contribu-
tons similar by having each one aiming
at leadership. Nor do ! wish every one
TO write as lengthy contribution as the
leader does
have. however. made this change. and
that's that only one person viii be an
nouteed as leader for the coming Sun
day. This VIII put that person on his
mettle, and xilI avoid the possibility OF
any one feeling left 4"
Consequently, It gives me great pleas