The Washington herald., 1916-04-03
Keeping Really Alive.

By JOHN ID. BARRY.
is there really any way of keeping our minds
from hardening of being sure that our minds are
alive and healthy? Perhaps we can learn from
observing those who perform the feat Invariably
they will be found to be abreast of the times
It does not follow that they will be in the thick
of the competitive struggle. On the contrary
they may seem to be far away from competition
They thrive out of business as well as in bust
ness. Their secret is not matter of place or oil
circumstance. 1t is essentially OF the spirit They
know how to live. They may indeed be said to
be the great artists in living. Every waking in
slant they are alive and happily enersizng. In
variably they will be seen to care less for them
selves than for others
They prove the truth that life is a paradox
The less they seek for themselves, the more they
get. And the more they give the more they
have Theirs is the supreme magic. They make
US see the truth of the fable of Aladdin's lamp
In other words, the whole secret of living is
caring about living. With practice caring de-
velops. AS one grows older living becomes a
finer art, with increasing rewards A clue may be
found in the old Latin saying Nothing human
is foreign to me-" and in the definition of what
of the divine
The man that keeps abreast of the times keeps
abreast of all time. He is the nhertor of all the
ages. If he is willing to take the best he finds
it waiting to be taken and holding out its arms
Goethe's saying. that gets from travel
what he takes, applies to all living The mind
turned to ivory is already dead. Mutitudes of
dead people walking about in the world. Per
haps some of us among them. A little con-
Germ about the question may, in itself, be an as
surance of life and warning
Can learn to care about living, If we
ask the question show that we already care.
But it is not enough to ask and to sink back
again. We must examine and work
As we grow older we are continually remind
ed of the problems practical aspect In recent
years it has been presented by the world with an
insistence almost heartlessy cruel.
By misquoting DR.. Oser the newspapers
spread unwholesome thought through the
world, that the usefulness OF man was likely to
be impaired after the age of 49, Instantly thou
sands of men, engaged in the competitive strug-
gle, were seized with fright. Those who allowed
themselves to stay frightened accepted another
protection turned bad thought into a healthy
influence.
All business know the importance OF keep
ing abreast of the times. Around them they see
disasters resulting from falling behind. The man
who is alive to the new ideas has the best chance
of reaching the head of the procession, provided,
of course, he has initiative and energy. Those
who look calmly on, recognizing what is true and
failing to react, among the most pathetic ex-
amples of inefficiency. 1t is not enough to see.
1t is necessary to do.
Of recent years there has been notable
change in business, all the more remarkable be-
cause it is not commercial, but ethical. The bus
iress of today who is merely competitive, is
falling behind in the procession. The tricks that
once might have established success would be
far more likely to establish failure now
The business who aren't quickened by the
new spirit giving themselves up to decay.