Ways of Living

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 429, 4 August 1904, Page 3

Ways of Living

1 ' • HABITS., '\, ;/' '% • §(flS? HK3 $ B ' a*e and seI wick B °tato ones. Ttafe power is front j [ OwbO within; like steamships they wait not for wind or tide; bat txjm ' ready, if need be, to resist both. Theflß feelings are to their will what the coaljH to the engine, and coal is fervour MB deneed—the sun's heat and the sW energy made solid—and, when theseffl again set free in the engine-room Wt motive power is secured for steady heWßil wft y\ These are the men and the wonfH who know how to use feeling rightly aldsHE the line of duty, and duty ia a quality® that works well in- all weathers, in the m aark as in the light, against resistance/ fti* well as before encouragement* I Betwesn these.two stands a third and commoner- ci»ssr-.tha| '■ ;-;*>& ..the, mere emctionalista. f They are we speak of as' f §11 of feeling.' sHHf^have ■"■■ always a fountain of tears for 1 tho unhappy heroine in a novel, or for Rushing over., some dramatic incident.; Bat you are., not long in discovering the callous seinahness which lies behind all this. Ask them to put their good feelings to some practical, merciful purpose—to engage patiently, ploddingly, on any work of real benevolence or pity—and you are made, astounded at discovering how fertile the human mind can be in inventing exouses. The fact is these are moral topera who. delight in stimulating their feelings jußt as the confirmed drunkard delights in any- • thing that will titillate his unstrung nerves. The one is ho whit better than the other; each is seeking his own gratification only, and each is being made •callous by his selfishness. , > If you wold find a proof or urns you nave only to look round on the professed pleasure-seekera. Where will you;findjk more deadened, hardened, Belfish set t Ton. do not go to the gambling table, the turf, or the casino to look for philanthropists, or for those who oare for the sad and burdened onea on life's waj. One here and there of a good heart you may find—for life is too mixed to be accurately -classified—but these are the exceptions. The rule still holds that ' lovers ot pleasure more than lovers of God 1 is but a synonym for 'lovers of self more than lovers of men.' ';.. In a word, then, all feeling that is indalged for its own sake, only—for the thrill and pleasure it gives üb—hardeninginfluence $ instead ofj2&kiag«!T man better because he isStf'sensitive, it . leaves him wor 5 3^g oanS e he is so selfish. Emotion,..ffiiass 'out-driving,' loir all JgSjihg" is force, capable of being converted... into action. To this end it is given, and to this end it should be put. It was .the; i lesson the Lord gave to repentant Peter—" a lesson on the right engineering of the emotions—when he sud, -Lovest thou MeP Then—feed my bheep. Lovest thou MeP Then—feed my lambs.* That is—do something with your feeling, set something agoing by it, turn it into deeds'— for faith .•■', . wdrketh , . .by love. - ',-; ! It is thus that our feelin&'s can be enlisted on our side to help us over many a difficulty. There are times, for instance, when you say you 'feel' you ought to do this or that, just because it is right, Tnen do not dally with that feeling, dp not suppress it, or it will harden in on you; give it scope, do theHhiagit would urge yon to do, and under its influence you will find you can do with comparative ', ease what would be irksome.at another ' ', time. . ■"'':"'•'.-:~,'..\'-''•':''; ;J; V ./. . o.i there is some one from whom you [ have been estranged. For a tima there , is the rankling of a wound within you, L and it is hard then even to think of re* concilemest; but by-and-by a better, a ! gentler, a more graoiouß feeling comes . over you; act on that better feeling at . once, and under its benign influence re- [ co'ncilement is quickly and sweetly made; , put away that helpful feeling, however, , and the gap between you and the'othec . will grow wider and wider, for you have been hardened by the waste of what would have be9H your power.