Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-30
THE DAILY CHIT-CHAT.
By Ruth Cameron.

IT always see the darkest side of things
when I first wake up. / shall feel very
differently about this matter as soon as L
have bathed and had my breakfast"
At the foot of the bed in the home of
one of my friends hangs little passe-
partouted. card on which the above words
are written in her own handwriting.
When 1 naturally inquired what was
the significance of this most peculiar wall
decoration, she laughed heartily. Then
she sobered down and explained.
when / wake up in the morning she
said, II am apt to feel very much de-
pressed If there Is any little trouble on
my mind it looks like mountain to me.
For the first few minutes after l wake
up hate myself and every one else and
wish / were dead or, better still, nad
never been born. But in an hour or two,
after I've bathed and had my breakfast,
I begin to feel quite differently. l see
things then in quite another light. IN
sure anything that's troubling me Is 60
ing to come out all right and I'm happy
just to be alive.
We'll, when Cousin Ann was here last
spring-you know she's that very original
bachelor cousin of mine-she used TO
laugh at me about this sudden trans1or-
nation. And when she'd come into my
room in the morning, lind me piue ana
depressed and afraid couldn't get TINS
thing done right, or that that terrible
thing was going to happen, she'd remind
me that had felt just the same the. day
before and got all over it In an hour OF
two. And I'd always say, Yes, put TINS
is different. ,.e...
when l had Just decided that was giad
I had been born after all, and that l
would probably be able to make that
speech before the mothers club, ana that
II didn't the world wouldn't come 70 an
end anyway, she brought me pen ana
paper and made me write DOWN that
statement you see. Then she passepar-
touted it and hung it at the fooe OF the
bed where I'd have to see IT as soon as
opened my eyes. OF course. ! often laugh
al IT. but 1t does really help me not to
get 80 absurdly blue and depressed.
A very eccentric idea!
Yes. I suppose so. But is it necessarily
such an absurd one!
stacle saving, 81 never can overcome
that" OF course. you do overcome II.
but when the next obstacle looms up, you
feel just the same way and say Just the
same thing. with the same convicuon:
HOW many times when the convalescent
has a setback he says, I'm sure L snail
never get over tits. I'm not getting the
least bit better" And then he has two
or three good nights sleep, things go wei
with him. and he is all optimism 10 !h .t,a
next setback comes. ten to one he is as
down in the dumps and discouraged as
ever.
How many times the road ahead looks
so dark to you that you do not believe II
will ever be bright again. And then by
and by things straighten out, as they al,
WAYS do, the sun comes out from behind
the clouds, shaft of sunlight faiiS
athwart your path. and then another and
another until all the gray shadows nave
vanished And yet the next time the
road looks black you are just as certain
as ever that the sun never could come
out from behind those particular CLOUDS
and that your road will be gloomy to the
journeys end
Now. why should it be so absurd to pre-
serve a record of your optimistic and
successful moments as a sort OF land
mark to cheer you the next time you
travel the road of disbursement!
The wave etches on the sand record
of its high-water mark achievement, ana
no matter how long the tide Gibbs we
never doubt but that it will find its way
back again to that high-water mark.
Why should it be SO absurd for us TO
make little recos s to remind ourselves
of our high-water marks of happiness
and achievement and to reassure- us
when the tide is ebbing that 1t will surely
flow again?