Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 193, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1919 — WHY SADNESS IN OLD AGE? [ARTICLE]

WHY SADNESS IN OLD AGE?

Too True That the Two Thing* Aro 'f—r Frequently Associated, but Should Not 80. It Is a common belief that as a person advances In years he becomes not only a wiser but a sadder man. That one should gain knowledge as he grows older Is thoroughly In order, but that he should become Increasingly- burdened with the cares of life and saddened because of hopes that have not been fulfilled is not a necessary condition. It is true that the clouds that gather about the setting sun do take a sober coloring from an eye that has kept watch in man’s mortality, to paraphrase Wordsworth a bit, and that the thought of constantly lessening activity and prospects which age entails is enough to make one pause and consider. But consideration that goes far enough will reveal that all time, whether of this world or another, is an unending opportunity for progression. After all, the whole matter of age Is something that has to do with the mind rather than the body. And when the body begins to fail, when gray hairs appear, the step becomes less springy, sleep more difficult and Joy in things that used to please an Impossibility, sadness should not be the result. * The mind Is a great crucible which receives and transfuses In some fashion impressions from all the objects! and facts of life. The, will is the master which determines what the transfusion shall be. A man can let his will relax or he can keep it active, regardless of age. He can make of his existence a heaven or a hell, whether he be old or young, rich or poor, in a favored spot of the earth, on desert soil or fallen on evil days. Exercise of the will cannot at last stave off death, and it may not induce prolonged health or material welfare. But it can aid in all these things, and entirely regardless of its material accomplishments, the will that is kept properly on the alert can lead him in hope. “Oh, well for him whose will is Strong.” For him whose will Is weak, or rather allowed to become weak, there is Joy neither in a sunset nor a sunrise. And even the bright light of noonday will only dazzle and bewilder, rather than encourage and inspire. 5 The strong will sees endlessly, “beyond the sunset and the paths of all the western stars.” It strengthens a man In hope and leads him to see unlimited possibilities as the years pass. Sadness is the last thing that ought to characterize age.—Kansas City Star.