Evening star., 1924-12-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

sensftiyeness accomplishes great
things, at great price, we can but
bow our heads at TIE sacrifice.
No, the great sensitiveness has a
place OF Its own, and Is net what
we mean.
When we say not to be too sem
sitive. we simply mean not to be so
thin skinned that any old body can
make you feel bad, as the popular
phrase has 1t.
Some kind friend takes a dirty dig
at you, thereby revealing what is in
his own mind, although he attributes
1t to you. You, however, knowing
that your mind is entirely free from
the base motives he attributes to 1t,
realize fully that he Is betrayins
4his own thoughts.
But what do you do? You brood
over what he has said. Hours later
you find yourself with a dull sense
OF hurt. You wonder what on earth
is the matter. Who or what has
taken the Joy out OF life?
Let's sect can't be that $40 you
squandered-or that loss you sus-
tained in stocks-or that little quar-
rel-or that more serious affair-or
-or-why, you guess II must be that
mean crack Bill Jones pulled Off!
"Shucks." you say, forcefully. II
somewhat inelegantly. why should
I worry about what that bird said
He merely gave himself away, that
is all. What he said about me isn't
true, and 1 know it, and he knows 1t,
and Jim, who was there, knows 1t,
too"
Having thus proceeded to state the
truth of the thing, you go about your
business, continuing to worry about
what Jones said. 1t will take several
days for 1t to wear off.
~ n
Now why Is this thus?
The answer is that we have not
trained ourselves, and have never
been trained in the fine art of re-
buffing mean thoughts, dirty digs,
wise cracks, nasty joshing and catty
remarks.
Education has proceeded on the
principle that the practical things in
life will take care of themselves, much
as it once went along content in the
idea that the home must attend to
the cleanliness of the child. II little
Johnnie did not wash behind his ears.
Johnnie was sent homo with a note
to mamma.
Today the school introduces a fine
game, called the health crusade, and
inveigles Johnny into washing be-
hind his ears each morning. so that
he Will get so many points on his
course toward a health crusader knight
hood.
Similarly, one of the next steps in
general education will be instruction
in general ethics. morality and the
practical conduct of life, and one of
the main branches OF this newer in
struction, I am convinced, will be
psychological lessons in how to keep
from being too easily hurt.
A child that can actually let ill-will
trickle in one ear and out the other
as the old saying had 1t. will have
learned something that will stand
him in stead all his life.
X II
The necessity for this hardening of
the mental epidermis against the
winds OF i'll that blow all too freely
Will be apparent to any one who
thinks back over his own intellectual
life.
There Is no man but can instance
scores OF times when chance remarks
hurt him to the quick, remarks which
ought never to have occasioned him
second thought.
Women. perhaps, are more sensitive
in this regard than men, and any one
of them can recall countless times
when much unhappiness, even tears,
resulted from the careless or inten-
tionally means words OF others,
Truly, all of US should cultivate a
sort OF rhinocerous hide for our mind
or even the carapace of the turtle, In
order that the evil men say may fall
Off blunted to the ground