A LONG TALE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21100, 6 February 1932, Page 6 (Supplement)

A LONG TALE.

THINGS LIFE HAS TAUGHT ME

You cannot pass your experience on lo other people; nobody can learn except by experiencing things themselves—which is one of the main causes of the strife between young and middle-aged or old people of to-day, says one who knows. Wo who have been along a certain path know all the rough stones we had to tread, the briars that caught at us and dragged us back, and in all kindness we say, " Don't do that It will only hurt you." Some young folk obey our advice and avoid the troubles—most don't, and so they suffer badly. This does not mean that experience is wasted; it gives us tolerance, it makes us kindly and sympathetic to others, and it gives us strength to help them bear their difficulties when they arise—and remember this, if your young folks don't take your advice at first, and land themselves in the mud, they realise in time how foolish they were, and will probably be only too grateful the next time for what you can tell them. Life is a long tale of making mistakes, getting up aftor them and repairing the damage—and just as a dam that has been burst by the inrush of a Hood is rebuilt stronger, so is one's character reinforced by the building necessary after a smash. Give your good advice by all means, but don't get impatient when it is not followed. You would not try to protect people from growth, would you 1 The land will not .produce wheat until it has been ploughed and harrowed and weeded carefully; human beings do not produce their best fruits of character until they, too, have been ploughed and harrowed by life.