Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-09-30
Stretching Exercises
By RUTH TAYLOR

IT'S INTERESTING the things you learn from
Il magazines The other day was canning the
pages of womans publication-and saw the
headline SStretch to Reduce" followed by lot
of perfectly good advice upon how to stretch.
Next picked up the Readers Digest and came
across a quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes:
"Man's mind stretched to new idea never
goes back to its original dimensions"
Maybe the two articles got twisted In my
mind. but it seems to me that mental stretch
ing exercises ought to be pretty good thing
for all of us At least they would reduce our
concet and stretch our understanding.
Here are some stretching exercises.
1. Are all your friends just like you? Then
why not stretch your friendlness and meet
those whose outlook is different Are there
those of different nationality or race IN the
place where you work? Then in your work you
have common point of interest from which to
begin. If your ways lie among your own people
then 90 out and seek others. Meet them on
their ground and be interested in what inter-
ests them-n their food, or in their music is
good way to begin. You will stretch your
knowledge of people as you learn how very
similar they are under the surface.
g. Once you have finished the first stretch
ing exercise you are ready for the second one.
How opinonated is the group to which you
belong? Can it see the other mans side of the
question? Can 1t stretch its collective mind or
Individual minds to compass an alien view
point? good exercise is to get fresh out
look If you are labor man, bring in man
agement man to your next meeting, to explain
his position If you are management man.
why not ask labor man to tell you what ne
thinks is wrong. If you don't like certain leg
islation--why not ask the author of it to ex-
plain it to you the citizen The stretch comes
in your willingness to listen to the other mans
ideas without bias and prejudice, giving him as
much leeway as you take for yourself.
g. Would you like to broaden your horizon
but you have to stay put in one placer Then
stretch again 1t was Thoreau who said he
knew life because he had travelled much in
Concord You too can do the same How much
do YOU really know about your home town?
How would it impress you'if you were travel
Ter? Go down to the station some day and start
fom there as though you were a stranger--and
do what you would do in strange town what
do you think you would think of your town
and the people in it? And Just what are you
going to do about it? Brother, when you think
that way, you're growing.
a. What does your town give to the needy
in mind the lonely of heart the famished In
spirit? Why not for a week pretend you didn't
have money for movie Turn off the tele-
vision. And start out to see what your town
gives "for free"-what concerts what lectures
what museums, what the churches offer. How
much searching did you have to do? And do
YOU think your recreational life will ever be
as narrow again? And will you tell others what
you found out?
Oh there are lots of ways to stretch. And
you'll be better shaped, taller person when
you get through. How about daily stretching
exercises? Are you on?