Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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32 SOMANHIS EVENTS aeaN3qaNjqeqyonala”? o y0a“=s=a“=N0eooaoaoaQqQq= $®?)S——————eeeeeee”wWwe.™®®®::: THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS Happiness is the reward of obedience and righteousness. It is defined by Webster as “a state of pleasu.avle content with one’s condition of life.” Instinct for happiness is as natural in man as the instinct of life itself. Certainly, it is a very important thing in this worid, for man must be happy, if he is to do good and lasting work. But we usually underestimate its place. We are inclined to think that the bright and sunny nature must be shallow, and the sad and thoughtful nature, the deeper and richer. Aristotle said, “Since all knowledge and all purpose aim at some good, what is the highest of all realizable good? As to its name I suppose nearly all men are agreed; for the masses and the men of culture alike declare that it is happiness.” All forms of philosophy, which have made it the aim of life, have come to the conclusion that happiness can be attained only through temperance and self-control. Life is full of simple, natural, healthy joy. “The highest happiness is not in what we have, but in what we hope to attain.” The way to happiness is harder to find than the way to prosperity. Some say that the sure way to lose it is to seek it. Some ambitions which men set before them as the unerring way to a happy life are fame, position of pow- er, Or possession of great wealth. But happiness does not depend upon pos- sessions. They often hinder because of over-anxiety to provide against pos- sible happiness. A man makes a great discovery when he finds out that life is not made up of the abundance of things, and that happiness lies along the common and universal lines. Experience shows us that when men live sim- ply, pleasure comes easily with every ac t. The first important factor in being happy is health. Few realize the worth of this until they lose it, or are in danger of losing it. Health not only makes heavy work possible, it also affects the quality of the work. Health’ affects our practical judgments; lack of it often produces a mind which can- not see things as they are. An invalid can be happy, and a weakling, noble, but it is in spite of their disabilities. The second factor of happiness is work. Being happy in our work does not lie in doing just the kind we like, but in learning to like the kind we do. The busy lives are the happiest. The strong person likes to battle in hard winter. He does not ask for the shelter of a snug nest us his permanent en- vironment. In his book, “Quest of Happiness” Philip Gilbert Hammerton tells of one of his old gentlemen friends who said, “I had many kinds of happiness which I did not want and never hoped for and 1 wished for many that I nev- er received. I discovered that the right way to enjoy happiness within my reach was net to form an ideal of my own and be disappointed when it was not realized, but to accept the opportunities for enjoying life which were of- fered by life itself from year to year and day to day. Since I took things in this temper, I have enjoyed a great amount of happiness.” Another of his gentlemen friends places happiness entirely in occupation of which he has always found an abundance, both in professional work and in studies. The third great way of being happy is by the “satisfaction of the affec- tions.” This includes home life, friendship, and associations with others. “True happiness is found in the mutual love of husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters.” It is also found in the association with others, especially by the young. One can be happy by accepting the task appointed him, by performing it cheerfully, and by habitually emphasizing pleasant things. Some go to business in the morning, and waste their best energy in outwitting their com- petitors. Returning home at night, they are tired and fretful, and remem- ber only the disagreeable things. Sense of victory begins with the belief that happiness and tranquillity are possible in spite of conditions. Beethoven was deaf, yet he wrote glor-

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 31 A person should put his best into life at all times, but when the time of fail- ure comes, and it does come to everyone, it is not the time to quit; it is the time to spur oneself on to work to the very height of his ability, both men- tally and physically. The following verse brings out the attitude one should hold toward failure: “What is a failure? It’s only a spur ‘Yo a man who receives it right, And it makes the spirit within him stir ‘To go in once more and fight. If you never have failed, it’s an even guess You never have won a high success.” Furthermore, many people who fear censure find a reasonless excuse for failure instead of accepting it. The “Good Sport” never resorts to this meth- od, for it takes away a man’s chance to try, and makes quitting easy. There is often a way to gain fame at the expense of someone else, but this is never done by the “Good Sport” who realizes that the only things worth while in this world are those which are earned. A person can often get by without doing his share, but if he does, the bigger things in life slip by him, for nothing worth while comes to us without effort—the effort of work. Science teaches us that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. If certain amounts of different substances are put into chemical action, the same amounts of those substances will remain after the action ceases, al- though in a different form. Thus, when we put hard work into our tasks, we get the same amount of work in return, only it is in the form of success. lf these laws of sportsmanship are carried out, we shall find that we have an entirely different outlook upon life than we have ever had before, if we have not tried to live up to these ideas. We do not think that just because someone or something is working against us that it is impossible to succeed. Instead, we learn that there is always an opposing force such as temptation, idleness, dishonesty, quitting, et cetera, which must be faced squarely, op- enly, and entirely wiped out of our lives. The “Good Sport” understands that not everyone can be a star, and so does not try to uphold a position in life above his ability, merely for show, but puts his best into his job. He knows that failure is part of the game and never becomes discouraged by it, for he realizes that there would be no joy in winning if he had never tasted defeat. Thus, he does not permit either success or failure to ruin him, for he knows that whether he has met with success or failure, he has learned something from his effort that will help him to succeed later. Thus the “Good Sport” wins his successes from his own hard work. Although he realizes that everyone is helped at times, he does not have to be pulled through life, but stands on his own feet, ready to get up again every time he falls down. He is ready to make good where success seems impossible, and is always ready to help another, less fortunate than he. The genuine “Gocd Sport” stands out among his associates for his good spirit, which, although it may not be appreciated by the mass of people, is, nevertheless, a valuable asset. It helps him over the difficulties as well as in his successes. “Good sportsmanship” is a characteristic for which all should strive. Eleanor Stoughton ’23

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 33 ious symphonies. Phillips Brooks stammered, but he became a great preach- er. Doomed for some years to Bedford jail, John Bunyan remained cheerful and wrote his immortal book. It really seems as if many people have forgotten how to rest. Life is full of fret and fever. It is never quiet: even at midnight the thunder of com- merce is heard on the street. The nervous wreckage of people’s lives is the cause of much unhappiness. The happiest man is he who is able to forget, especially on a holiday. It is not a holiday if one cannot forget his sorrows and worries, and enjoy his surroundings. Children are our examples. They think only of the present, and forget their little troubles. They are very happy during vacation and enjoy themselves immensely. True happiness, which is, after all, a state of the soul, is found in relig- ion. “To be without God is to be without hope in the world.” It is un- fortunate that the young people should have so much cause to imagine that religion means gloom and darkness, instead of joy and light. Religion is the biggest and brightest thing that can come into a man’s life, transforming ev- ery power and inspiring every energy, and flooding it with peace and joy. Pleasure may be possible in any view of the universe, but happiness can only persist if we believe that life is not playing us. false. Ruskin said, “To watch the corn grow, or the blossom set; to draw hard breath over the ploughshare or spade; to read, to think, to love, to pray, are the things which make men happy.” Ruth Ellis ’23 FRIENDSHIP Friendship when reigning in its greatest truth and purity, is a sacred bond between two human souls, protected and nourished by love. The most ex- alted ideas of love are not too good for a cherished friendship. A friend stands for the human beauty of intellect and all that goes with humanity. It is not only the most beautiful and noble in man, but also an ideal for any in- dividual, for any nation. We do not talk of friendship so much as we feel it, for its philosophy is beyond the human power of knowledge. We seek a definition of love, not knowing that in our quest we deprive ourselves of that very thing, filling our lives with ambitions and interests that bar our hearts from that supreme happiness—the finding of companionship. We come in contact with so many different persons in our daily routine that we ask ourselves which ones we would choose to whom to open our hearts and share the troubles and pleasures of the world. It could not be the person who enjoys his own solitude to such an extent that he is almost monk- ish in his withdrawal from his fellowmen. Neither would it be the one who speaks to. everybody and anybody without reason, making himself a bore and a pest. Instead, we choose the one who shows himself honorably inter- ested in his companion’s personality and who always learns something in the bargain. We cannot have friends unless we ourselves make some effort. The only way to have a friend is to be one,”’ and in order to be a good friend there are certain elements essential. The purpose itself holds a simple yet sacred in- tention, and is the hichest auality of all. A geod friendship never lacks in- spirine qualities. and never fails to lift un the ideals and ambitions of a per- son. It does not demand, but gives freely and willingly. A friend sees in vou what you really are: an insincere smile never deceives a friend. We ought not to regret our own faults. or to despise those of others, for a friend shows his sincerity and love by telling us of our faults, and helping us to mend them.