LIVING FOR THE FUN OF IT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 177, 7 November 1941, Page 4

LIVING FOR THE FUN OF IT

WHAT was the thing about your early home life that made the deepest impression on your memory or your character? An American questionnaire was very important. Animal pe:ts stood high in the list. So did family festivals, when fun broke loose and the whole household played together. The big point is that the great majority picked out some factor of home life which would not ordinarily be called serious. Did you ever stop to think that nothing beautiful ever came into life until folks began to play? Playing is indispensable to youngsters, and taking up golf or getting fascinated in a hobby may be the wisest thing for an oldster to do. But what we are after is even more: vital: putting the spirit of play into the whole of life —living for the fun of it. The best work is always done for fun. Indeed it was in this mood that John Bunyan wrote "The Pilgrim's Progress." He said himself, that he wrote it for diversion: "... nor did I undertake thereby to please my neighbour; no not I; I did it mine own self to gratifie." But it is not enough to have the spirit of play in work. Play at home. Youngsters and children both need it. Two people marry. They are determined to clo their duty by each other. He works and she works. As the years pass, they work harder and harder. They become absorbed in work. Seeing a family like: that,, one w r ants to cry, "Play! Play with each other and the children. Home life is not simply duty; it is a festival. No family life is healthy unless it kicks its heels." There is great satisfaction in life for those who take it always in a sporting spirit—for those who are living for the fun of it.