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A
MAY
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The Chemawa Am encan
P r i n t e d a t C h e m a w a , O r e g o n , a n d D e v o t e d to t h e i n t e r e s t s o f I n d i a n E d u c a t i o n
Vol. X X III
W ednesday, D ecem ber 8, 1920
H A P P IN E S S
We believe th a t if questioned upon the subject that
practically every m illionaire and m ulti-m illionaire in
th e U nited States today would state th at they are not
a bit happier now th an when they were in poorer c ir
cum stances. So would the vast m ajority of men and
women who have reached the goal of th e ir am bition,
w hatever it may have been, express them selves.
T he w hole world is engaged in th e quest for h a p
piness, b u t, ju d g in g by appearances, very few succeed
in th e ir quest. Some expect to find it in m oney, some
in fame, some in gratification of th eir am bition, in
th e attain m en t of a certain object, but when they get
th e th in g th at was going to m ake them so happy thev
find happiness ju st as far aw ay as ever.
W ith the m ost of us th e trouble is th a t we are always
looking for happiness in the fu tu re , ex p ectin g to find
it in some big th in g a fo rtu n e, some g ran d o p p o r
tu n ity , some great stroke of luck, some vague indefi
nite th in g w hich we are at a loss to describe—and we
seem to th in k th a t w hatever th is th in g is w hich is
going to m ake us really happy it is alw ays in the d is
tance, never close at hand. It aw aits us som ew here in
th e shadow y fu tu re; it is never in the th in g s we have,
b u t in the th in g s th a t are far aw ay, or em bodied in
those th in g s w hich others possess.
E very-one know s th a t riches— m aterial th in g s—do
not b rin g happiness
E xcitem ent, fleeting pleasures,
pleasures th a t often leave a bad taste in the m outh
w hen they are past, may be bought w ith m oney; but
real happiness cannot be bought or sold. N othing
m ean or u nw orthy appeals to it. T h ere is no affinity
betw een it and the m erely anim al p art of o u r nature.
In one sh o rt sentence we find in the Bible, w here St.
P aul has stated the first principle of happiness: **For
I have learned in w hatever state I am therew ith to be
c o n te n t.”
H ow m any of us are co n ten t w ith the state we are
in? W o rk in g in a ch eerfu l, optim istic sp irit at our
task, w hatever it may be; doing our level best to make
it a m eans of gro w th , a step p in g stone to higher
things? F o r this is w hat St. Paul m eant. T h e con
te n tm e n t of w hich he speaks has nothing to do with
the co n ten tm en t of stag n atio n . H e alw ays had a
glorious goal in view —the u p liftin g of m ankind to a
higher plane. In the p u rsu it of his object he accepted
w hatever came to him —im prisonm ent, persecution,
to rtu re , h ardships of every sort, in the sam e happy
sp irit. H e found happiness in w hatever he was doing;
he took it w ith him w herever he w ent.
H ow m any of us are doing that? Are not m ost of
us doing the direct op p o site—m aking ourselves m iser
able by continual g ru m b lin g about our environm ent,
No. 10
our w ork, our associates, our condition generally?
A lm ost every person is losing the happiness he is in
search of by strain in g for som ething he has not. H e
is living in anticipation, not in reality.
Now, stu d en ts, readers, success and happiness are
for you— for every hum an being on th is beautiful
ea rth w here God has placed us. H e m eant us to be
happy and successful, and it is only w hen we are not
in harm ony w ith H im , w orking co n trary to H is plan
for us, instead of w orking in unison w ith H im , th a t
we are u n h ap p y , unsuccessful— m iserable failures in
stead of rad ian t successes.
W h at we get out of life depends upon how we look
at it, and w hat we put into it. W hen we face life the
rig h t way, th a t is, in the rig h t m ental a ttitu d e —
cheerful, hopeful, alw ays ex p ectin g th e best to com e
to us because we believe in the fatherhood of God,
v ho gives only good gifts to us, and th a t we cannot
in ju re our b ro th er man w ithout in ju rin g ourselves—
th en we have gone a long way tow ard solving the
pi oblem of happiness. O u r m ental a ttitu d e and ou r
acts determ ine w hether we shall be happy or m iser
able, w h ether we m ake of life m usic or discord.
H ap p in ess is th e result of rig h t th in k in g and rig h t
acting. I t is as im possible for th e selfish, greedy,
g rasp in g th o u g h t, the th o u g h t centered wholly upon
o n e ’s in terest, to produce a happy sta te of m ind as it
is for th istle seeds to produce w heat. E very th o u g h t
and every act will produce a harvest like itself. If
we sow helpfulness, kindness, unselfishness, we shall
reap a harvest of satisfaction, harm ony and h ap
piness. If we sow unkindness by th o u g h t or act; if
our m inds are filled m uch of the tim e w ith discordant
th o u g h ts, envy, jealousy, h atred , we shall reap a
harvest of m isery and discord. O ur degree of h ap
piness or m isery today is m erely the resu lt of our
th o u g h t life— for the act follows the th o u g h t. R ight
th in k in g m eans rig h t acting.
No one has a “ c o rn e r” on happiness. It is not a
p rero g ativ e of w ealth or pow er. T h e kingdom of
harm ony or heaven is w ithin each individual.
S tra ig h tfo rw a rd , honest w ork, a determ ined effort
to do o n e ’s best, w hatever his task, w hatever his e n
viro n m en t, an earnest effort to scatter su n sh in e, to
m ake o th er people a little better off, a little happier
because of o u r existence, these are th e in g redients
th a t en ter into the m aking of real happiness. If you
d o n ’t w ork up to this recipe today, rig h t w here you
are, you will never find happiness tom orrow in some
other job, in some other place. H app in ess is a con
dition of m ind.
Jessie Cleveland was in charge of th e dom estic
science d u rin g Mrs. B rickell’s absence the o th er day.