SPELLS OF JOY

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1678, 27 April 1904, Page 27

SPELLS OF JOY

Children get spells of joy, or, as the < poet says, “a fit of happiness.” Especially is this true with country children, who have good spirits because they have good health. Some of these little friends of mine ask leave of their parents to go out on ‘“a bawling trip,” knowing they canniot bawl to heart’s content in the house. So off they go, tearing u pand down the slopes, and yet not too cut of breath to ba-wl. I have known them to do- this sometime-si in the- dark. Town children mostly need their school companions to have these spells of jo-y. Laughter is contagious, and peal after pea-1 rings round. Elders sometimes envy their young mirth, sometimes' call out for quint. More raredv they sympathise wit-li them, which means experience the same in measure. j

The last is the best for us-, for tli-es-e fits of happiness but .seldom .come tq us of -maturer years. They are very much a matter of temperament and age. But there is such a thing as to “accustom oneself to -enjoy..” Look cut for the incidents' that icn-n interest and amuse and them be amused. Take them home, api-d practice the dramatic recounting o-f them to interest and amuse- the homemates-. This would be- a mental tonic, a whole-some corrective •to the over-much serving.

Tli ere is a rr give and take” side of the good-humoured 1 discussion of topic®. Those engaged in it get their ideas clarified! and enlarged from friendly contention. “Peac-e-meal happiness” is- all w-e can expect, and to get this we must not allow ourselves to just drift along'. As has been said, “Wo must work liardi, we must play hard, and we must dremii hard!” I think the best kind of dreaming is placing ourselves an-dl our surroundings on ideals, and then working to realise' them.

Surely the step-ladder to happiness is content. This may bo practiced (contradictory though iit seem) while we dream cur ideals, play at them, if you will, anU moreover work for them.