Evening star., 1933-06-24
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEEELL,

thoughtless sentence from companion
but it mars everything.
Often such small hurts are unrecog-
niZed at the time. Like the scratch
which is not felt. but which one notices
later, such hurt gnaws and gnaws at
mind and heart. A dull sort of de-
preston settles over one, leaving one
wondering what is the matter.
| At last the trouble is realized.
"Oh, that is nothing" does not help
/ but. under the circumstances, with the
| persons concerned as they are, it is a
! great deal.
| 1t is border. or frame, across which
one must travel to come to a better
| state of mind. AS small as it is, it re-
vealS the possibility of a better state OF
mind, and also of its desirability.
There has been a great deal said
about thought, and thinking. and the
| power of words. as things. but much
! still must be said by every human being
to his best audience. himself, if he is
to understand the necessity for better
state of mind.
x x
Those philosophers, through the ages,
who have insisted that negation is bet
ter than affirmation seem to have
something to say to us at these times
The better state of mind craved is
mostly an absence of hurt of one sort
or another. The wounded pride needs
to be soothed, perhaps. Whatever it
may be, it is mind not at ease, and
mere easing of it is removing the hurt;
A lack of something, therefore, and
this resolves itself down to movement
of the individual across this dark bor-
Iny. 0f hi iv,to ha 1iotz{ M<ov,u
that moving back to the clear pane OF
glass is better than blowing on. Others
use their persistence to good purpose,
and finally cross the border itself.
Whichever method one uses. the chief
thing is to understand the desirablllty
of a better state of mind and its pos
sibility. Until these are firmly got in
mind the mind can do nothing, except
by accident. Accidental betterment is
better than none at all. but is not so
likely to occur as one planned deliber-
ately.
There is big field here, in the per-
Sonal life. for the use of the intelli-
gence. After all, the mind need not be
confined to ones business. or to read
ing, or to any other department of
living, but may browse at will over
everything.
Thinking ones self out of difficulty
seems strange to those who have not
practiced it much, or who somehow
have got the idea that the task is futile
Such persons tend to use their brains
only in few directions. A candid ex-
animation of ones habits, in this re-
spect, may show a great many illumi-
mating things.
X x
A man who will use his brains on re-
pairing his motor car often never thinks
of attempting to use them in fixing a
broken disposition or a hurt spirit.
The thing is not easy, of course.
Often the engine of thought seems a
poor one when attempting to run
human being into the haven of bet
ter state of mind. 1t seems to func-
tion poorly, or not at all. Yet it may
be questioned whether any such effort
toward self-help is ever wasted. One
is dealing here, not with nuts and
bolts, but with intangible values of
heart and mind, and it is not easy to
put ones finger on the exact spot, and
say, Here it is. this is where l have
been helped" One may feel, however.
that the help is plain, nevertheless, and
that the Dark Border of given situ-
alton may have been crossed the more
easily, not for persistence, or even pa
tience but for knowing how