The Washington herald., 1915-07-31
Putting Things Of.

| BY JOHN u. BARRY.
| A man of my acquaintance is always gettin,
into trouble. The reason, think can usually b.
traced to his habit of putting off the little dutie
of life. To his surprise he finds that the NOR,
these neglected the more difficult they become
| and the more numerous.
1t is as if duty were put out at interest, and a.
| if the interest were increasing annoyance ane
trouble and labor.
This man is eactly like the kind of men who
fall into the clutches of usurer. The only diff
ference is that he is himself the usurer and tn.
victim and that there is no real profit on ethe,
side
The more he puts disagreeable things off,
have more than once heard him say, the more hs
hates doing them. He often laments that he die
not do this thing or that the very instant il
presented itself to be done.
One consideration, however, he does not seem
to realize. that if he did each of these things as
it came along, it might not be hard to do. l,
might even be a pleasure.
We all know how hard it is to pay old bill
If it is paid the instant getting something
for money, there is great sense of hard
ship. But the further away an obligation goes
the unreal it becomes. Here we may find
an explanation of the wrath many people feel
and express when they are bothered by the claims
of Anticipated debt. 1t is like being asked to
pay something for nothing.
Our attitude toward duty is all matter of low
ing and hating.
Some of us used to think that loving and hating
were beyond our control.
We would go far to boast of our capacity
to hate. We would even display with a kind of
pride our hatred of this person or that.
But hating, like everything else in the constitu-
ton of man, grows with cultivation and with exer-
else
If we habtually hate. we become good haters -
AS we use the expressions, there is nothing dis
creditable in it, nothing that shocks
And yet to boast of being a good hater or to
speak creditably of who is a good hater is
like Boosting of being sick speaking approx
ingly of one, who cultivates headache or tooth
ache. For hating is Of the most painful ex-
periences in life And it is not only painful it
is dangerous well. 1t is of the most effect
i've influences in the world for developing mental
and physical malades
And just hating as we'll as loving may be
controlled in relation 10 human beings, SO it may
be controlled in relation to things. 1t may be
controlled even in relation to duty.
lnere is one DUTY that human beings con-
spicuousy neglect. 1t is a tremendously impor-
tant duty And it is also, for most human be-
ings, the most attractive duty in the world.
Nevertheless, in spite of its attractiveness and its
importance, it is seldom spoken of.
There millions of people who don't even
recognize it as duty. So they neglect to strive
for it. Then they wonder why they have not
achieved the duty. Sometimes they complain Bit
terly. Occasionally, by chance, they do achieve
the duty without recognizing it as duty. Then
they neglect it and they suffer for the rest of their
lives.
Surely you know what the duty is 1t is simply
the duty of being happy
After all. the matter simply reduces itself to
this truth, verified by everyday experience: The
hard things of life we create ourselves.
Hard things that come our way are not hard
when we do them They are hard only when we
don't do them when we do them imperfect1y
Duty is not hard when it is cheerful and vigor-
ously done Duty is hard only when it is not prop
erly met, that is, when it is done without good
will, when it is not done at ALL
Blame for the Eastland