South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-01-01
Tea Table Talks
NEW YEAR.
BY May De Witt Talmage

Looking at my calendar the other
day. l read. so closes the year.
Peace to his ashes. Peace to the en-
bers of burnt out things; fears, anx-
ieties, doubts all gone! 1 see them
now as a thin blue smoke hanging
in the bright heavens of the past
year vanishing away into nothing
ness not many illusions scattered, not
many anticipations disappointed"
So let us hope it is with most of
us. How many memories gather
around those ashes. Memories of
happy days, some days of sorrow
and anxiety. There may be others
who are glad to see the old year go,
hoping the new year will bring bet
ter days Others stand at the TIRES
hold, dreading what the new year
may reveal TO them.
To those to whom the past year
only brings memory Of opportunity
lost, or 10 whom the present is a
tangie. a maze that they cannot see
the way out of, and who only have
feelings Of incompleteness and I'M
satisfaction. let them look for the
cause of their condition. If we are
physically i'll we call in a doctor,
he feels our pulse. puts a thermom-
eter in our mouth which registers
the amount of fever Finding the
condition he searches for the cause.
What have we been eating? How
have we exposed ourselves to atmo-
spheric conditions? What kind of
"a germ has our weakened. overtaxed
body picked up? What is the ill
ness the result of?
If our lives are out of gear. alas
there is no doctor we can call in to
cure US. our only help lies within
ourselves. We must diagnose our
own conditions with serious intro
spectiOn. then go Systematically TO
work 10 strengthen the weak spots
in our character, to give new life
and impetus by positive will power
and resolve 1t may be we have
been spelling our lives by wrong
line Of thought, lax morals, no high
standard of living. wrong ambitions.
or we have lost opportunities by
vascillating. yielding, stunt bling. Any
one OF these things car bring a
wrong condition in our lives.
When we go searching for the
cause of things, il is interesting and
astounding. The first cause of our
success, OF our defeat, of our vices;
how far back they date. and what
insignificant things they appeared at
the time. "Trifles are trifies only
to trifers" has been said. ITO the
thoughtful they are symptoms Of
peril signs Of hope. opportunities &C
life. To ignore trifies is to be ig-
nOrant OF the spot where decisions
are made the destinies determined"
One OF the chief dangers Of life is
trusting occasions. conspicuous
events, striking experiences We are
wrong, common days and every day
clothes tell the real story The
epoch Of life is in a thought which
revises our entire manner OF life.
This is the time. then. instead OF
turning over new leaf 20 read a
bit Of the history OF our lives in the
past year, and If we are not salts
fed with il diagnose the case, find
out the cause, then say. peace 10 his
ashes, and with positive power and
resolve begin again. But don't for
get that wishing never takes the
place OF wiling One Is negative.
the other positive. A resolute will
conquers everything.
Look not mournfully 20 the past.
IL comes not back again
Wisely improve the present. il is
thine.
Go forth 10 meet the shadow-y
future
Without fear and with q brave
heart"