Norwich bulletin., 1910-01-29
SUNDAY MORNING TALK
The Skipping Habit.

'sHe's acquired the skipping habit" remarked a man in my hearing recent ly concerning third person "Do you mean" I inquired, that he goes trip ping down the street, as children now and then dance out to their play?' T mean that he has learned to let some things go by" When I grasped the situation, said: Capital idea; I'll
 Now am not going on to make a plea for superdciality. We have too sEnuch of that in American life. Men skim when they ought to dig. But the kind of skipping I would like to see mere generally indulged in is that which puts one side certain things in the interest of certain others.
 Watch people read newspapers. Here comes the daily with it's rich freight of news, comment and miscellany. I have sat behind persons on railway trains who spent a whole hour on a single page and that page dealing with pure ly ephemeral matters. I should not get through my half a dozen newspapers a day unless I had learned to skip much of the matter, and will frankly say that the pages I skip are the sport ing page, the theatrical page and the columns dealing with scandals, elope- ments and similar tragedies. Not that do not like to read now and then about a good ball game, just as l like occasionally to attend one. Not that eschew altogether the theater, but these matters do not interest me as many others do. But I am parson and look at things from a parsons moment intimate that my practice should be necessarily that of every body else. Personally. am glad that with all the multitude of interesting subjects pressing for attention today, l can leave one side certain large realms of interest, and thus save time and strength for other realms of thought and action
 
 ample, I would drive home this point, that everyone should select for him. self certain matters to which he will be relatively indifferent concerning which he will not talk and think much.
 For this subject touches something more than our newspaper reading hab- it's. Editors, in selecting matter for their columns do but cater to the well and furnish "stories" in quantity and quality corresponding to the popular taste. The place to begin skipuing g then is not the newspaper, but the per- sona1 life. What are some of the things we should let go by? We shall all agree if we think seriously enough that it is well to skip both in print and in daily life as much of the trivial as we can, all of the sensual and idle gos- sip as well, and fnnuendOeS, backbiting g and islander. Sights and injuries, whether real or fancied. are to be little emphasized and that which feeds mor- bidity and pessimism should certainly be passed by.
 Then there are places and compan- ionships which are to be skipped be- cause they waste good time and per- haps good money, even if they are not all positively harmful Busy people in particular who feel driven all the time should stop some of these drains upon strength and nervous force. A good time 1t is here near the outset Of the wear to foster the skipping habit, to close the door upon certain regions of thought and activity in order that our lives may become dearer. richer and purer. Plan to skip something these next few months. Have courage to let 1t go by. Save yourself for the bigger things. the larger work of build ing an ideal home or a noble character or of purifying an neighborhood or a city. or for your proper share in the worlds uplift.
 THE PARSoN.