The Washington herald., 1916-01-06
The Hurried People.
By JOHN u. HARRY,

The Hurried People.
By JOHN u. BARuy
There arc some. people who seem to be just a
lfew minutes behind time. II they gould catch up
catch up. BrcathIcssIy they go through the day
las if they were, pursuing phantom Often they
~, I'VE under great nervous tension. At the end of
las il they subjected to great trials including
ovcrwork But, as matter OF fact the trouble
lies wholly within themselves If they would only
calm down and do quietly and scrcnely what they
had to do life would take on wholly different
aspect for them, becoming, instead OF a torment,
source OF peace and happiness,
There are those who seem to be afraid OF be-
ling ahead OF time. If they make an appointment
they can't endure keeping it promptly. They hate
to be on hand minute or two in advance That
minute or two is too precious. They must not be
do! The thought Of idly waiting is distressing
And yet such people are nearly always wasteful
of time. They do good deal Of idng. What is
more serious by being late, they keep others wait
ing and encroach on time not their own More
over whep they arrive they arc likely to be in a
state OF nervous excitement which is not at all
pleasant.
To be always ahead OF time is ono of the best
possible habits 1t avoids irritation in oneself and
IN others. 1t tends to create in oneself poisc
the is very valuable carrying with it the of
leisrrely doing and Of case. So many things that
we do. without being hard, we ourselves cause to
seem hard through Hurried approach II we
took plenty OF time over them, if we looked at
them with quiet mind, should find most of
the difficulties smoothing themselves away. In
stead of being perplexed and troubled, we should
feel the JOY resulting from mastery
Tolstoy in one of his letters speaks with mar
ticuar affection of his aunt, Tatyana '"She taught
me, he says, the beauty OF a calm and unhurricd
,e ;ne me words convey suggestion of sooth-
m ri kind tj,,,
seem to rcproach the nervous haste of the world
They illustrate the meaning of wise living. They
make us see how important it is to keep the
sources of our being untroublcd and self-controcd
The moment get into a hurry the whole
nature is agtated. Instead of being one creature.
we become many creatures imperfectly related,
dis cordant scattered in our thinking and acting
under difficulties Little things become effort and
pain. Where there should be harmony there is
discord. No wonder there are fearful disasters in
year to year. live in this kind OF turmoil The re-
sulting sic kness, physical and mental is natures
protest and warning. For this reason we ought to
see the absurdity of our regarding much OF our
sickness as evil 1t really is a blessing But
we cannot take advantage of it unless we realize
its meaning. II we merely try to cure the svmp-
toms we do ourselves harm. Instead of .proftins
we resist our lessons.
Hurrying carries the sense of Importance $50
dear to most of us. Some people think they are not
really accomplishing anything unless they hurry
The more they hurry the more faith they have in
their own power Sometimes they boast of the
number of things they have done during the day
They seldom stop to inquire whether those things
other things, which they failed to do, might not
have been more important. There are times when
It is best not to do anything at all, to keep per-
fectly still to relax, to rest, and to think Many
OF our lives are like growths -nourished
ground like trees rising out Of rocky soil 1t would
be SO much finer if we would only enrich the
sources with contemplation resulting in deeper
understanding and sympathy. Those intervals of
idleness that the hurried people so persistently
avoid might be used with great profit
THERE'S a little country place within an hours
ride of large city where several men of nv
acquaintance live. Most Of them hnd travelling
back and forth each day hardship Some of them
complain. But one has told me that he considers
They give him time to think. an the morning" he
says, when | am going UP to town | make my
plans In the evening. on my way home. ! look
over the days work. But for those two hours on
ferently and | believe, not so well.'
One of the arts of life is to be able to sit still
and to en- 10y. To the hurried people it is an art
ing keeps the springs Of being troubled Even in
those moments when they arc forced to be still
they feel hurried. The truth is that hurry has
become part of their nature. They sometimes reach
the state where it seems impossible for them ever
to know peace. The only peace they can achieve
is kind of self-forgetfulness in hurry The more
hurried they the greater their illusion Of free
dom. Their hurry is like drinking or taking a
drug.
If we cannot enjoy stiffness, long continued,
too, we may be that something is wrong
We arc out of harmony. On realizing our cond-
ton, the best we do is to stop our activities
for time and to learn to adopt ourselves to
queter living Till we reach the power to enjoy
stiffness we cannot live wisely and happily. 1t
us indeed a precious possession. And once at
tanned it will pay us to keep it safeguarded The
best means is by testing ourselves with ian interval
OF repose. II we find it difficult we may be aware
that something is threatening. We must let down,
we must quietly and easily invite harmony When