THE VIRTUE OF CHEERFULNESS

New Zealand Tablet, 3 December 1908, Page 37

THE VIRTUE OF CHEERFULNESS

No matter what else you may accomplish in life, or however rich you may become, if' you do not keep sweet, if you allow yourself to sour, to become a pessimist, your life will be unproductive and- you .will be a comparative failure. Resolve that whatever comes, 'or does not come to you, whether you succeed in your particular undertaking or fail, whether you make money or lose it, you will keep sweet, cheerful, hopeful, helpful, optimistic. Every day we see pessimistic, doleful people going through the world — people who have ruined their capacity for enjoyment because they allowed their losses, their sorrows, their fears, their failures, to take all the sweetness out of their lives. It does not matter so very much, after all, whether you make a fortune or not ; but it does matter very much whether you keep sweet, have a clean record and live a balanced life. Some of the greatest men and women in. all history were totaL failures as money-makers, but they were notable successes in nobility ard balance of character, cleanliness of life, mental poise, stability of purpose, and sweet of disposition.