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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1921)
J 20. ; 3 MAY 8 The Chemawa American 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, January 19, 1921 TH E V A L U E OF OPTIM ISM S tu d en ts an d readers, we w ish to encourage you to be m erry, to laugh aloud. A good, h ea rty laugh e x pands th e chest and m akes the blood course along vigorously. Com m end us to a good, h earty lau g h — an honest lau g h , not a sn ick erin g lau g h , a forced and coarse lau g h , or a laugh in derision, b u t one th a t is m irth fu l an d sounds th ro u g h o u t the b u ild in g . Such a lau g h is good for you and really benefits those who hear it. M errim ent is ca tch in g an d spreads, few be in g able to resist its co n tag io n . A h earty lau g h is d e lig h tfu l harm ony. C h ild ren w ho are n o t h appy will never am o u n t to m uch. It is not w ork th a t in ju res people— it is w orry. W ork is h ealth fu l; it is hard to p u t m ore on a person th an th e y can bear. B ut w orry soon ru sts a person out. I t i s not th e g reat sorrow s, heavy b u rd en s, th at cloud o u r lives; it is th e little v ex atio n s, insignificant a n x ie ties and fears w hich ren d er o u r lives u n h ap p y and d estro y ou r m ental eq u ilib riu m , and a good hearty la u g h does m ore to destroy th e effect o f w orry and im ag in ary woe th an any know n m edicine. N obody can do th e ir best w’hen fevered by w orry. A n x iety m ars o n e ’s w ork. S tu d en ts, try to cu ltiv ate a k in d ly dis position and a cheerful m an n er, and endeavor to create a pleasant feeling and diffuse good cheer w herever you go. Be k in d to yo u r m atro n s and teachers and q u it finding fau lt. W hy not try th in k in g more about th e o th er fellow? I t will pay better and be better. A habit of cheerfulness is a fo rtu n e to each one of you. T h e re is n o th in g b u t ill-fo rtu n e in the h ab it of com p lain in g , g ru m b lin g , w hich req u ires no self-denial, no brains, no character. I t req u ires no brains to g tu m b le an d com plain. C om plainin g only m akes th e com plainer u n h ap p y and is th e cause very frequently of su ch an one g e ttin g into trouble. W h erev er you are detailed fill th a t place as it never was filled before; m ake yourself do th e w ork sp len d id ly , cheerfully, efficiently. Show th a t y ou are ab u n d a n tly able and w orthy to do b etter th in g s. N one of us ever find the th in g s here ju st as we w ould like them . W e all have b u rdens laid upon us and we presum e you stu d en ts do also. But do not sh irk or grum ble; be cheerful, for th e w ork needs to be done, and ability to do it—also be g lad of th e h o n o r to be a No. 15 m em ber of a body of fine boys and girls who m ake up th e stu d e n t body, the backbone of g re a t C hem aw a. T hose stu d e n ts who fill up the gaps and sm ooth aw ay th e ro u g h sp o ts and perform th e various jobs at our school ch eerfully, w ith o u t g ru m b lin g , are w orth a whole reg im en t of grum blers, those who get tired , dissatisfied, and w ant to go home. G ive us th e boy or girl who sings w hile at w ork. T hey will do m ore w ork in the sam e tim e and do it better. O ne is scatcely sensible of “ th a t tired feelin g ” w hen he m arches to m usic. W hy, stu d en ts, th e very stars in heaven are said to m ake harm o n y as they re volve. W o n d erful is th e pow er of cheerfulness. E fforts, th erefore, to be perm an en tly u seful, m u st be u niform ly jo yous— th e sp irit of su n sh in e, lau g h ter and good w ill. It is a good sign when you can hear a g irl sing a t h er w ork. W e are sure the dishes shine m ore b rig h tly , and the sw eeping and d u stin g and w ashing and m end in g are m ore satisfactory, because of happiness in the air. C atch th e sp irit of being a cheerful w orker. It is said th a t a cow will give one-fifth m ore m ilk w hen soothed by a pleasing m elody, th a t sheep fatten better to the sound of m usic, th a t a horse will find labor easier when given a little m usic. So, stu d en ts, th u s it goes. Some people fill the air w ith th eir presence and sw eetness. Good h u m o r— cheerfulness— is su nshine to us all. Yes, a sun n y tem per is conducive to h ealth, and th e person w ith a su n n y disposition usually has a good concience and a cheerful m ind. It is th e little disp u tes, little fault-findings, little i n sin u atio n s, little reflections, sharp criticism s, fre tfu l ness, im patience, unkin d n ess, slurs, discourtesies and bad tem pers th a t create discord and unhap p in ess. Etat if you th in k of th e other fellow— love and be loved — be k ind and cheerful, all of these th in g s will be fo r g o tten and you will find th a t th e greatest happiness of existence lies in p racticing th ro w in g out su n sh in e and kindness rig h t here, and now . So let us all, every-one, endeavor to be cheerful, obedient, w illing, w ith la u g h ter in o u r h e a rts and a feeling of kin d ness tow ard all. T h en th e atm osphere of cheerfulness will pervade all C hem aw a a n d the hom e life here will be ideal.
