Hello Dear Friends:
There is a great deal of satisfaction in sharing with others whether it be the good things of life, or pain. There are some of you who are ill temporarily and that brings me to the point of the power of the mind. It is amazing what can be done with will power. It is well enough to accept medical aid, but there are many of us who can greatly assist ourselves by using that common little phrase “FORGET IT.” If you will take my advice in any unpleasant circumstance whether it be illness or worry and say to yourselves, “there is nothing in the world worth worrying about” and then proceed to forget it, you will find you will soon have a brighter outlook on life.
Most of us pull down the blinds and refuse to let the sunshine in. We all take ourselves too seriously, to others. You can loose an unpleasant acquaintance by ignoring him, and fail to pay half enough attention and relieve pain by the same method. It matters little what one’s circumstances are. I know people who worry because they cannot provide three meals a day. Twelve years ago I encountered unfavorable circumstances and was obliged to live for one week on two shillings. That made me think. I immediately formed a one week plan (long before Russia had its five years plan) and that scheme resulted in one bowl of soup every day at six o’clock with a few buns that were free. I got along fine. I then organized a two years plan and since then altho I live in good Hotels and food is plentiful I manage nicely on one meal a day. I spent my week of depression and my two shillings laughing it off, and went up and down Broadway meeting my friends and exchanging funny stories. To me it was a joke, and today one of my outstanding experiences that I wouldn’t have missed for anything. I could have grieved and worried and pestered everybody with my trouble, but there was not a soul that knew of my circumstances and in fact I wouldn’t allow myself to realize it. This was done by “Forgetting It.”
You must learn to cultivate contentment. I have found more happiness in a shack than in a palace, and will do so again. Contentment is your most valuable asset; it doesn’t cost anything; you cannot buy it; you must cultivate it.
Many of us are unhappy because we are running wild; we have no plans. A good architect does not build a house without a plan, so why should we conduct our lives without one. We must make up our minds definitely, what we want to accomplish; in other words find a target and then keep shooting at it untiringly; if we miss, shoot again. We must hit it sometime. The man who aims wild and doesn’t shoot at anything in particular seldom hits. With a purpose in life definitely thought out you must get results. You have it in your power of mind to force any situation, but you must develop it, and begin by the immediate elimination of all unpleasantness from your mind.
After having faced audiences in every part of the Globe for a period of thirty-five years, I have had a fair chance to study human nature. I have found that the French, the Italians and the Spanish are nervous and excitable. Of these the Italian is the most reserved and skeptical; he takes nothing for granted, he must be shown. As an audience the Italians are the most unresponsive for practically anything except Opera, and for this they are the wildest and most enthusiastic audience I have ever seen.
The Germans and the Russians are the easiest to please. They are heavy minded, but they miss no opportunity to laugh when possible. Therefore the Germans provide the best laughing audiences, while the Russians are the most demonstrative. In Russia the Theatre comes first. Scandinavians like Australians are great amusement lovers; they are happy carefree people and must have their fun. When I made my first trip to Australia twenty-three years ago I was impressed by the happy-go-lucky spirit of the people, and it still prevails. They are easy givers; they are always saying and doing something kind, and therein I believe they find their contentment, altho in these days a bit more reserved, but the trend of the times has created a boogy man in every country, and those who let him enter their minds, live in fear. Fear only creates anxiety, anxiety creates worry, and worry creates bad health. After all, our lives are very short and we have no right to shut ourselves up within ourselves and become selfish.
On occasions I have had audiences that did not show appreciation by applauding; they were not what we call a hard audience, often delightful to work to, and I sensed they had enjoyed every moment of it; they just failed to show it, and when I reminded them, they did; they had simply become forgetful, and so it is with many of us in everyday life. It is so easy to say and do nice things and so noticeable. What we want is more cheerfulness and more laughter and we should all learn to scatter our flowers amongst the living and practice it. A wise man once said, “I shall pass thro this World but once. Any good thing therefore I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now, let me not defer it, or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” And don’t forget it.