Know Thyself

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 324, 7 September 1945, Page 8

Know Thyself

"T ORD, teach us to take our hearts and look them in the face, however difficult it may be." The acrobatics recommended in the curate’s extempore

prayer are sound sense in the training . for fitness of mind, and Dr. Mary Barkas was happy in her choice of this quotation for the finale of a talk from 3YA on "Mental Health of the Adult." It was a good talk, full of clear, reasonable counsel. She put well the plea for a better attitude to mental disordersa plea that we hear often, but clearly not often enough so long as any stigma attaches to them. More off the beaten track was another suggestion, not elaborated on, that youths leaving school should have a year or two for trying their hands in various jobs. The choice of occupation is still made very young, and often with little experience or data on the part of either parents or children. It becomes increasingly difficult’ owing ‘to specialisation, wage awards and the high cost of keeping a family, for a man to change his job in later years. Probably only the psychiatrists know the full extent of the damage done by vocational mistakes, and Dr. Barkas is wise to remind us not to hurry the 16 or 18-year-old into choosing his narrow path.