Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-29
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
What are life.s hardest LESSONS,

What are life's hardest lessons? =
As the new year approaches, it
seems well to consider this subject
not from the standpoint of the
preacher, but solely from the stand
point of the average man.
New Years resolutions mostly are
bunk.
Few make them, and those who do
seldom keep them. 1t Is rot sudden
resolve that does the trick in this
world. in the majority of cases, but
steadfast determination. A moment
OF time is not enough for most of us;
we require days and days of effort
weeks and weeks of right thinking
This being so-and l am sure 1t is
what are the hardest lessons we
have to learn In this world?
We pass up reconciliation and other
tests In the grand manner, and ad-
dress ourself to the simple, everyday
lessons We find hardest to learn in
this world. Ten of them come to
mind, but, of course, there are many
more.
These ten of life's hardest lessons
Will be discussed in as many separate
papers. because they have to do with
qualities that belong to all of us
There Is nothing surer in this world
than that what applies to one will
apply to another. for all of US are
very much alike at bottom, although
we may differ tremendously in ap-
pearance, dress. richness in this
worlds goods or lack thereof.
X + u
Do not always take everything
that happens in some relation to your
precious self.
This is one Of life's hardest lessons.
til one does he finds the world pretty
rough shedding. The steering gear is
out of whack, and his sled has rust
on the runners.
Nor is this fault peculiar to youth
alone. Hundreds of men and women
who ought to know better go through
life continuing TO orient everything
that happens around them in relation
TO themselves.
A friend falls 20 speak one day as
he passes on the street. This Is i'm
mediately construed into an insult.
Now, what on earth have ! done to
make him treat me in that fashion,"
Why, nothing at all!
That is the point Of the whole
thing. Instead Of being hurt, the in
jured one should learn the lesson
one OF life's hardest-not to take
everything that happens in some re-
lation to himself.
Although he may seem to himself
the center of the universe-in one
sense, OF course, he certainly is--all
OF us are--to others he is but one of
thousands close at hand. one of mill
lions far off
Everything that happens does not
take him into consideration in the
happening. No, indeed. Very few
happenings do. The friend that fall
ed to speak, thereby hurting his feel
ings, did not even see him.
That was the real explanation of the
seeming slight. The friend was busy
thinking out a problem, so busy, as a
matter of fact, that he looked square
~ at his good friend but actually
failed to see him.
His thoughts were so busy that his
eyes alone saw. His brain was so
occupied that when the message was
flashed to it of the passing of a
friend, the mind refused to accept it,
There was no insult intended, or. in
fact. yet the insuIted one put that
meaning upon the occurrence. and for
days thereafter let II rankle in his
mind. He had not learned the lesson
of refusing to take everything that
happens in some relation to himself.
X "
Healthy conceit Is another thing
The man who hasn't a certain
amount of pride in himself will never
get anywhere. (He calls il pride, his
enemies call 1t conceit. 1t is both. 1t
lis pride which merges into conceit,
and conceit which merges back again
into pride.)
Even Jesus, who counseled humil-
ity, had n proper pride in his trans