The Washington herald., 1916-04-22


regulated life?
For time amused myself by thinking
about some of the people l had known. Were
they well regulated in their lives or ill-regular?
Examples of the ill-regulated at once stood out
the bored, the resentful the dissatisfied, the hur-
ried the complaining nervous. and the men
tally and physically dyspeptic, in other words
the sick
Now, / thought l had point to start FROM
the physical. 1t was, besides, what most peo-
pie regarded as the foundation of fife. Without
health of the body, there could not possibly be
well-regulated life. III health, indeed, implied
lack of regulation
One of the healthiest men l know, whenever
any one asks him how he keeps so well, usually
says something like "By not thinking about
myself if l can help it" l once asked him if
he didn't ever think about his health Not
my way of living, that's all Perhaps it's temper
amental l don't like OVERRIDING"
1t seemed to me that this model of regula-
ton did himself an injustice. Subconsciously
perhaps instinctively he showed that he had a
genius for taking care of himself. He knew
just how far he could go without harm. He
maintained perfectly harmonious balance.
Most of us have to be more conscious in
our care. And yet, as we all know, there is
danger in consciousness. We sympa-
thize with the remark once made by 4 lover
of coffee: Before l got married l used to
enjoy drinking coffee. l never thought of its
doing any harm And l actually believe
it didn't. But after l got married my wife be-
gan to worry about my eoffee-drinking, and she
got me worrying. Now whenever I drink it
feel that it may do me harm and, of course, it
does. Where it used to be an everyday kind
of enjoyment, now it's an indulgence that I
have to pay for"
Obviously, too much thinking about danger
to ourselves results in many a disorder and, in
itself is one of the worst kinds of disorder.
The of the coffee .drinker, however, illus
trates the growing tendency on the part of
people today to avoid all kinds of stmulant
whether it does or does not ntoxicate ten
dency, on the whole, good, though it may carry
individual hardshps. But we may make things
unwholesome for ourselves simply by our at
titude toward the things. Fear a certain kind
of food and, harmless though it may be in
itself it becomes a foe, the more deadly in pro-
portion to the strength Of the fear.
I know people who, all their lives, have
avoided certain kinds of food. This thing or
that they could not endure the thought Of eating
Sometimes their aversion can be traced to an
aversion of a parent. 1t might be called heredi-
tary by people who love that word. 1t is much
more likely, however, to be initiative 1t may
come. too, from some childish aversion of the
eye or from some association / know a middle
aged man who, to this day, dislikes the sight
of boiled rice and will not eat rice in any form
for the reason that as boy, he used to be
urged to eat it at home the ground that it
good for him.
If our attitude toward food is friendly food
is likely to be friend to us, unless we abuse
the friendship. Most of us have learned from
experience that single overndulgence in some
thing we care for can completely ALLEVIATE that
kind of food, perhaps forever. Here we show
how inexorable can be in furnishing our
selves. There are those who take pride in
being able to eat only few things, usually
expensive They believe that in this way they
reveal superior taste. Perhaps they do But
they also show that they possess limited judg-
ment and that they are ill-regulated.
To be we'll regulated in the matter of health
signifies, after all not definite thing in itself
to be. arbitrarily applied to every one but
relation. All healthy people are, by no means
ContIoueQ by the same laws OF health. In the
matter of food the old adage of one mans meat
has daily application There are those who,
taking plenty of physical exercise keep we'll
And there are those who keep we'll without
taking physical exercise. Similarly, there are diff
ferences between the amount of sleep required
and of social diversion and even Of religion
To. some perfectly, good people all religious
feeling and aspiration is incomprehensib1e If
they were obliged to go through religious exer-
cises they would justly feel that they were the
victims of outrageous tyranny, somewhat as the
martyrs Of old used to feel. Their regulated
lives would be upset They would be far worse
off than they had been before
The truth is, it seems to me, that this foun-
dation matter of physical regulation is not nearly
SO physical as it looks. 1t is largely, if not
wholly, mental. Our physical being rests on
our thinking, in a very true sense, rising out
of it. t,,,T There are those who go SO far as to
say: The mind is not in the body; but the body
is in the mind" Whether we choose to &C
eept this apparent contradiction of the senses
is not important; what is important for everv
one, however, is to recognize the truth that
lies behind it and to follow its Implications. OF
paramount value in the effort to achieve we'll
regulated life.