CITIZEN’S LUNCH CLUB.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 218, 14 August 1937, Page 11

CITIZEN’S LUNCH CLUB.

, ADDRESS ON PERSONALITY. Speaking at the weekly gathering of the Palmerston North Citizens’ Lunch Club, yesterday, Dr Kenrick Dean dealt with a subject entitled “Growing Pains” from a philosophical aspect, touching on the development of personality and the pains associated with the progress of that growth. To couse growing in personality was to cease to live, said the speaker. All were conversant with physical and mental growth, but there was a third type; emotional growth. That was less fixed and therefore we had nioie trouble with it. An animal had no trouble with that because the animal was fixed by the law governing its reaction to changed conditions. We did not like an environment which was changeable, in a state of flux. We liked a fixed economic position, fixed religious beliefs, social laws, and a fixed system of philosophy. We all liked to know that when we put our anchor down we would stay there. Those fixed ideas were very comfortable until there was an upheaval, something which we now knew came periodically. We met that with either of two kinds of mind—a developing or open mind, or a fixed or closed mind. The developing mind would accept new ideas, when they were seen to be true. An open mind would also face factsAn open mind, in contrast to the closed mind, was elastic, and could see new values and accept them, dropping the old. The closed mind would not accept them, fearing the pain—all experienced mental pain when an old and fixed belief had to bo discarded. That mental and emotional pain formed the greatest obstacle to the full development of a personality. Wliat was neded that we might go on changingWo needed a stability which could be called by the word “faith.’ That had to have as its main factor a belief in the goodness of life. A contrasting factor of that was the insecurity of modern life. The War had brought insecurity and instability. Older people wanted to go back to preWar clays, but we could not do that. It was becoming increasingly difficult to adjust personality to the modern age. There was more need now than ever for a fully developed personality which could cope with its environment, ""physical pain taught us to be afraid of certain things, the speaker added, it was a warning. It was because of such a warning, of mental pam, that persons shrank from some tilings. Thus we saw some shut themselves away, to retreat from the reality oi the world. Yet we went through pam that wc might grow, be more sellreliant and know more of the meaning of life- If " e avoided pain wo avoided life, and to do that was to undertake mental death. I\p met mental pain in many ways, having to make decisions, having necessarily to oifend people, perhaps; yet we had to make a stand. If we retreated our personality became atrophied If we faced tiW decisions to De made, tlien bv doing so we further developed our personalities. If we were strong and of good courage, hoped for the best and acted for the best—then we would keep oil growing. The cluiirmiin, Mr G. H. btiJes, expressed to the speaker the thanks of the club. Mr W. A. Swinbourri was welcomed as a new member and Messrs H M. Mayer (London) and Renwi'ck (Palmerston North) were welcomed as visitors.