Evening star., 1934-10-19
Wanting
BY ANGELO PATRI.

nEAR CHILDREN Do you know
- the difference between wanting
and needing well enough TO work with
the idea of one and the other? Or do
you want everything you see Just be-
cause you see It? Children are a
bundle Of wants n the beginning, but
as they grow older. this wanting, this
greedineSs to hold and keep and hoard
ought to be leaving of a bit.
When you go into store, can you
keep your mind on the few things you
need and buy them and go? Or do
you look at everything in sight, handle
them, sigh for them, and even buy
some of them, although you know you
shouldn't and that you have no real
use for the things?
l saw a 12-year-old child do just
that the other day. He needed hard
pencil, just one. He vent into the
shop with his weeks spending money
in his pocket. Il want hard lead
pencil, please. For mechanical draw
ing. An eraser on the End. Yes,
thanks
While the pencil was being delivered
he looked about. He fingered another
pencil a nice shiny one with a nickel
attachment. Then he saw one OF
those Silvered ones with screw top
and a neat little cartridge full Of leads.
A bit further on he found some col
ored ones, very gay and attractive.
He spent his allowance on pencils
and walked out of the shop almost
in tears. He knew he had wasted
his money, but being such a child,
what could he do but cry?
When you go shopping with grown
people, do you want all you see? DO
you make the grownupS uncomfort-
able by your wishing and longing for
this and for that until they try to
satisfy you by buying you some child
ish toy? If you do, remember you
are behaving like a child. an infant
crying for the moon. Try to grow
up.
Want those things that are neces-
sary, and want no more. Piling up
things that you will outgrOW, buying
more than you need, coveting what
others have and for which you have
no use, are Wasteful in many ways.
Things will not make you rich or
powerful. The valuable things are
those you cannot carry home from
the shop. You earn them by learn
ing how to live happily with other
people, how to work and play. how
to earn and spend sanely and justly.
Self-discipline, that is, teaching
yourself to know what you need and
to go after that. instead of falling
for everything you want, will make
you powerful in spirit, and the strong
in spirit rule the world and all that
dwell therein.
Don't make the common mistake
of imagining that happiness and sue
cess depend upon your getting all
you see and all you think you want.
Success does not lie there. 1t is a
thing of the spirit and the spirit dis
eliminates in its wants and makes
them real needs.
You need intelligence, temperance
in all things, consideration Of others,
industry and ambition. You need the
love of others and you need to love
them. You need to work, to wait, to
endure while you work and wait for
the things your soul needs. You need
an aim in life. You need spiritual
and physical health, for upon them
all else depends.
You do not need all the things you
see You need very little of what
you call wealth You need all you
can possibly gather of spiritual riches,
such as the leaders of men have
achieved since the beginning of time.
Suppose you go into training for spir-
itual growth right nowl Do without
a lot of things and clear the road
for real needs That would be a
long stride toward growing up. To-
ward leaving childish things behind
you.
downright, lq34)