HEALTH PAPERS

New Zealand Tablet, 9 July 1908, Page 30

HEALTH PAPERS

Let us ponder over these truths

Happiness.

A lecture on ' Happiness * was delivered recently by Dr. ). P. Hastings, Dunedin, who said : Perhaps of late I have given too much attention to hygiene subjects, and to-night , we will let our thoughts wander into new channels. A little variation will refresh us all, and with renewed vigor we will return later on to our original topic. Already I have asked ' What is life?' I now demand an answer to the query, ' What is the purpose of life?' This question opens up a world of possibilities. Let us realise its full significance. Why were we born? Was it only that we might eat and sleep and work? Examine society as it exists to-day ; take from its ranks an average specimen of humanity, and with an impartial mind let the motives of his actions be judged. What do we find.-* Is love the mainspring of his actions? You might answer that it is not, but 4 contend that love — self-love or selfishness — is too often his guiding principle. In so far as it concerns himself he extends his affections to his family. But for his -neighbor — for those whose, interests in any way clash with his own — he has nothing but hatred. His own triumphs, whether acquired honestly or otherwise, elate him, but what a change comes over him when his' neighbor is successful. Jealousy grips his heart, envy maddens his brain ; he is eaten up "with mortification ; the fruits he cannot grasp himself he begrudges to another rather than they should enrich his neighbor. With outward "courtesy he masks the inward hate. Let us pass over a few years. The spring-time-and summer of his life have fled; never has he felt that_ honest happiness — the priceless blessing of a sincere, loving soul. His whole life has been tinged with bitterness; in his old age he has grown cynical. For him the morning sun of Hope never again shall rise. The powers of his mind are failing ; in the feebly illuminated background of his memory his illspcnt life stands out in sombre relief. Too late he realises his mistake. True, his money-bags are full, and perhaps he commands a certain amount of respect in the community ; but now that his soul trembles on the verge of eternity the aged man sees more clearly ; into that other world he cannot take the products of his selfish life — his wealth, his sheltering hypocrisy. The great mistake of his life was that he loved, not his neighbor, but himself. Let those of us who have not reached the summit of life's hill take heed. I would ask you to look at this subject from a common-sense point of view. Your commercial knowledge tells you that if you would make much money you must invest. To get money you must spend. If you always keep your money locked up securely it will never increase — it is of no use to you. Now, we all wish to be happy. If we are selfish the realisation is impossible. Selfishness is absolutely destructive of happiness. To increase your happiness you invest the stock of it you have in hand. Do this by trying to make some one else happy. Look around, and you will not have Ifar to seek for some one in trouble. Think of their troubles, ' and in your unselfish solicitation you will forget your own. To lighten your own cares help your neighbor to bear his burden, Visit. the sick, the poor, and the needy. When you enter your own well-furnished home, contrast your conditions of life with what you have just witnessed. Let this stimulate, you, -not to make disparaging remarks about your unfortunate neighbor, but to 'render him some material assistance.

To be happy ourselves we' must endeavor to make others happy. We must invest our happiness capital ; we must eliminate selfishness, and encourage in bur minds happy thoughts. they are not intended for others,

they apply to each one of us. That man 'lives ' best who does most good. The most renowned general or statesman might really be contemptible, for in his selfish ambition he may have trampled on all the finer feelings of humanity.