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Show I j Appreciation of Things ! The writer once heard a story of a I woman who had lived in Virginia all her I life and upon receipt of an invitation came west for a short time. While on this trip she came across a beautiful vine and it was so beautiful that she had seven fits over it. She did it up carefully in a neat little box and sent it to her friend in Virginia, with a very interesting explanation of its beauties, j The friend, upon careful examination, ' discovered that it was nothing more or ess than the Virginia Creeper, that for years had climbed about the home of the lady who was now going into rap- 1 tures over it. j Some wealthy people living in the 1 crowded city would give a fortune for a trees like those that grow in profusion in the country and are never noticed, j It is man's nature to appreciate the things his neighbor has and fails to see ! the beauties about himself. The city man seeks a vacation in the country ; and the country man seeks a vacation in the city and so it goes. Nobody is really satisfied with what he has. Or, putting it in another way, the grass on someone else's lawn looks greener than yours, and other people seem to have more prosperity and less trouble than you. The world is, to a great extent, just what we make it. The point of view is everything, and the beautiful is only in comparison with other things. The fault comes in this way: We grow accustomed ac-customed to the things about us and the common placement makes us unappre-ciative unappre-ciative of their beauty, and when we see the beauties of another section they look better because they are new to us and we are unaccustomed to their presence. pres-ence. The rugged highlander rejoices when he passes into the level lowlands covered cover-ed with grass and flowers, but the native of the lovvlands longs to climb the rugged rug-ged highland trails. Material possessions count for very little. Those are rich who think themselves them-selves so. Tne combines may raise the cost of living, but they cannot take away my outlook over the verdant landscape land-scape by day nor my view of the firmament firma-ment by night. You wouldn't be happy hap-py if you had Rockefeller's wealth. When he was getting off the train at Cleveland the other day with his sick wife he had to appeal to the crowd to stand back. "Please, please, gentlemen, gentle-men, don't question me! Please, please! Why can't I be allowed to come home like an ordinary man?" pleaded the richest man in the world. Think what you have to enjoy. Count your blessings. Don't allow your mind to dwell on your sorrows, or on the injustices in-justices that are done you. Look on the bright side; don't be a croaker. Don't be a negative quantity; whatever your value in the world, let it at least be plus, not minus. Providence has endowed en-dowed every part of the world with riches of some sort; there are things round about you that others, in your place, would cherish as great blessings. Jt is for you to find out these things and profit by them. Cultivate the appreciative ap-preciative habit of mind aud you will be happy and contented anywhere. And your happiness and contentment will shine forth in your face and radiate from you like a. glory, making others happy also. Here is a religion for you. |