Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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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.

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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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34 SOMANHIS EVENTS Often times we deceive ourselves in building our friendships on false foundations that lack the emotions of the human heart. We ignore the dic- tates of our own conscience and bring ourselves before the false god of beau- ty. These friendships are not good for us, and do not aid in our progress. There is a stronger foundation that never fails to bring the hkest of results; that foundation is love of purity and truth. Breadth and depth of personali- ty spring from these beautiful qualities, and make a friendship both human and divine. The joy that comes from the feelings of the heart is the great- est in the world. We cannot know a person unless we love him, for true af- fections seem to be the key to knowledge. Therefore, if we are choosing a friend, let-us first give him the throne of our heart. We all know the story of David and Jonathan, and admire the wonder- ful qualities of friendship shown in their devotion to each other. From the moment of their first meeting they felt the nearness of kindred. Out of the storms of time and life, there arose a newness of beauty and comfort for those two souls. It was a bond to endure the strongest test of nature’s difficulties. Today, we need such enduring friendships as David and Jonathan’s, to help the progress of the growing world. We find ourselves, as individuals, rising to meet the great political crises as they force their way into existence, but we need to rise as a body, co-operating with our fellowmen to strengthen our nation. Among the worthy workers we find more intimate associations than social co-operation. Men under great responsibilities to their country are glad to look to someone with confidence and feel the presence of loyalty and devotion to some fellowman as well as to their country. These quali- ties are essential, and a pledge of friendship between nations enables us to carry on our commerce and trade, prohibiting bitterness. Our country is our friend and we honor it in this way. It is difficult sometimes for everyone to come in immediate contact with the political work, and so we dwell in the domestic environment, simple as it may be. It might be well for us occasionally, to stop and consider the rich significance of the home and those that live therein. How worthless we our- selves would be, even as members of the home, if we devoted no love, confi- dence, or companionship to one another. It is in the home that we find the friendship of the highest merit. We respect and admire those therein with a constant and fervent devotion, looking to them for support in time of trouble, and sympathy in time of need. Courage and loyalty guide our very words and acts to the ones in the home, and comprise our world of kinship. Think of the sincere devotion, in old Bible days, of Ruth to her mother- in-law. It was with a great sacrifice that she followed and aided her in times of need. We should choose to be an earnest lover and helper to our devoted friend, even as she did. The phrase, “My Friend,” has a rich significance to one who understands its meaning. It means that there is one person with whom we may be sin- cere, and before whom we may think aloud. It gives us strength and cour- age of spirit to be able to say,— “This is my friend,” and it is like a new faith in the progress of nature. We know that when the sun shines, or when life seems dismal, we can look to this one for comfort and know that he will share our sorrows as well as our pleasures. He is not to use for our own advan- tage, but to accompany us on our journeys. Friendship should be valued for what there is in it, not for what can be gotten out of it. The “give and take” are among the supreme privileges of existence. Stevenson said: “If we can find but one to whom we can speak out our heart freely, with whom we can walk in love and simplicity without dissimulation, we have no ground of quar- rel with the world or God.” What my friendships have been to me I cannot put into words. I only know that without their sympathy I should be less than I am, and utterly lacking in happiness. We depend upon what people think of us so much, that sometimes we neglect our interests in others. We must go half way