The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1915-10-21
KEEPING UP WITH LIFE.


autv which we owe ourselves but which
we do not always look upon as duty Is
the necessity for keeping up with HE;
Once we let 60 our grip gpon things ana
consent to Just drift along we may as Wen
make up our minds to drop out of the pic
ture altogether. That is why so many
persons age earlier than others and become
objects of pity even in their most intimate
circles. The man who keeps step with life,
who insists upon marching in the front
ranks. who never casts longing looks be-
hind him toward 'the days that are no
more'' is the man who is everybody
friend and who is listening with all his
heart to the calls of life which vary with
the changing years and conditions. he
listens for sound, and strange and new as
they may seem 10 him he learns their mes
sage and turns it to the best possible adj
vantage. 1t is one of the provoking but
interesting, things about life that it will
never stop a moment for admiration. No
sooner do you pause to enjoy it, or philos-
oohze over it, or poetize about it, than it Is
up and away and the next time you glance
around, it is vanishing over the hill-with
the wind in its garments and the sun in its
hair. If you do not go on with life, 1t Will
go on without you. We must get the best
out of it while we have the chance, because
it is moving swiftly and all our hopes and
all our ambitions are wrapt up in its strong
embrace. Why not take from 1t what we
can and give to it what we can, and make
ourselves as happy over it as we can?
There is no use in dissectingit and cropping
for its many hidden meanings for we only
waste our time and lay up for ourselves
more work to do in trying to unravel mys-
teres that were meant to be mysteries.
And after our il-timed" repininings we
awaken suddenly to the fact that while we
waited apart in our selfish blindness, life
has rushed by laden with lost opportunities.
No amount OF longing can bring back
the past, no amount of anticipation can
hurry the future; our only safety is in liv-
ing in the all too fleeting present and while
We live in it try to be part of it even
though youth is over and the joy Of living
is beginning to assume a new aspect and a
new meaning. There is plenty to do al
ways, much that only we ourselves can do,
and while possibly it's accom- Iishment n ay
not satisfy all the longings of our hearts it
dulls the pain Of disappointment and gen.
crates other desires pure and wholesome
We simply have to keep up with life if we
expect to obtain any happiness whatever
from it. To play the game fairly and
squarely We must keep going all the time
aud not give up when disappointment comes
and ambitions seem crushed. 1t is the
keeping up increasingly, the 'never say
die" spirit, the plucky acceptance of what.
ever conditions that come that helps us tt
cling closely to our grip on life and all it;
wonder-treasures. The young people have
a monopoly of their own upon certain
phases of its existence, but as maturity
broadens their vision and makes them un.
derstand better they too pass into othe
fuller phases, and so on to the very end O
our existence. 1t is not necessary to cllns
to the joys and pastimes and problems o
early youth simply to keep our hold upoI
life-there are far greater riches awaiting
our claim, and it is by our treatment of tn
changing conditions and our ability t,
wrest from them the spice of life, as it were
the fine spirit that makes living a joy tina
we are able to keep our hold, and stron,
hold, upon all that makes life really wort
while.
We may as we'll accept the inevitable an
realize that life is much more necessary t
US than We are to it. If we fold our hand
and sit in the back ground we must not b
surprised if life passes US by and choose
another playfellow more to its fancy. W
alone are responsible for the outcome, an
no amount of regret will avail US in tn
least. We must be up and doing, piumin
ourselves for conquests, laying in stoc
of hope and JOY and perseverance, usin
our talents to the best advantage, and max
ing friends with all if we would catch U
with what we have lost and become agai
not only the merry playfellow but tn
sturdy comrade of all that is best an
brightest and most desirable in life itsel
II We fall back we must drop out altogethe
for there is an ambitious host clamorin
behind us eager and anxious to take o,
places as life rushes on. Few stop to loo
at the wayfarer resting by the roadside.
is his business to keep on, to get in tt
midst of his comrades again and be pa
of their existence, not a looker-on. The
is brightness and happiness and conten
ment in this world for everybody and if Y
do not see it at hand we must seek until Y