Evening star., 1932-06-07


in the face OF trying conditions, Is one
OF the finest examples In human history
Of applied mentality.
1T doesn't do you any good to get
sore"
He was just q so-called average
man." often Jumped of by statistical
and other writers as "the man In the
street." but he was making q deliberate
use Of hi mind to rule his life.
He had come to a conclusion, and he
was passing on his acquired wisdom to
another, who, no doubt agreed with
him. theoretically at least.
The difhculty OF turning this knowl-
edge into practical use is well known.
However we'll one may be sold" on the
old sayings that a soft answer turneth
away wrath" and that you can catch
more flies with molasses than vinegar" !"
there often occur situations in which
one has no desire in the world either
to turn away wrath or to catch flies.
The best immediate attack on the
problem of anger is that hinted at in
the old saw about counting 10 before
speaking
Few human beings, even children. 60
to the trouble Of counting 10. or any
other number. but many Of them do
keep their visages as straight as possi-
BILE, as calm as they can and as i'm
movable as nature will permit
This is emulating the Indian to some
point. The aboriginees Of this country
| had many good traits, one Of them
being this stolid quality Of countenance
known among white men as the poker
face"
In the average walks of this interest
ing American life. probably at no time
| inf history more interesting. he gains
most in every way who manages to
! keep his temper and play the game
according to the rules. In any game a
man may cheat, end sometimes get
away with it. but II he happens to have
Qualities of heart and mind to which
cheating Is not congenial, he will be
the real loser, no matter how much
he gains.
I There are few days which go by,
with mcst of us, during which some
one does not say something which rubs
one the wrong way. 1t Is easy TO get
mad" and sometimes, alas, satisfac-
! tory to indulge in . harsh word or two.
| Yet In most instances the very pest line
! of sgtion is q simple failure to get
sore: that is. plainly put, a failure
to manifest any open discontinue or
resentment
A little repTeSSlOIl. IlON anu tiiCii 40
! good for us Sometimes Cne may feel
inclined to believe that Sigmund Freud
and his disciples have done more harm
in the world than they have done gooo
not so much IN themselves as through
half baked understandings, or mis-
understa ndings. of what psychological
nomenclature means.
The term repression has been
erected into a perfect fetch by thou
sands OF people. who have come to be-
heve that any sort of holding in. from
the intellectual standpoint. Is lnlmical
to the best interests OF human beings.
The truth seems to be that certain
amount of repression is as necessary IN
the intellectual life as in the physical
life anu that no such vast amount OF
harm can come from represslcns as has
been attributed to them.
In the physical life. for instance.
MANY people believe that a repressed
sneeze is harmful, or even hurtful. The
truth is that stopping a sn/eze often is
announcement but that is n; no one is
harmed by the firm pressure of the
/ forefinger on the upper lip Just below
the nose. a procedure which will kill
nine out of ten sneezes. Not even the
| would-be sneezer is harmed. while
scores OF nearby persons may pe saved
/ from catching cold.
/ OF ell the necessary repressions, that
of anger is one OF the greatest and one
OF the most immediate. 1t is one which
may be applied often in the daily life
with the best effect. So many griev-
ances are only of the moment. The
next day they look what they are
silly and utterly trivial.
1T doesn't do you any good to get
sore" Oh, yeah? as the youngsters say.
We get angry about small things md
remain remarkably calm about me ters
which should arouse our righteous in
dignation. The world Of men is made
that way. Only now and then does a
man arrive among us who gets sore
in the right way and for q great pur-
pose. Tne best most Of us can do Is
! to remain calm,