. Surely the canary is wiser than
the starling. By J. R. Miller. A cheerful heart
has a continual feast. Proverbs 15, 15. A cheerful heart
is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs
17, 22. One of the divinest secrets of
a happy life is the art of extracting comfort and sweetness from every
circumstance. We must develop the habit of
looking on the bright side. This is a magic wand whose power
exceeds that of any fabled magicians to change all things into blessings. Those who take cheerful views
find happiness everywhere. and yet, how rare is the habit,
the multitude prefer to walk on the dark side of the paths
of life. There are those who take to gloom
as a bat to darkness or as a vulture to carrion. They would rather
nurse a misery than nourish a joy. They always find the dark side
of everything, if there is a dark side to be found. They appear
to be conscientious grumblers, as if it were their duty to extract
some essence of misery from every circumstance. The weather is
either too cold or too hot, too wet or too dry. They never find
anything to their taste. Nothing escapes their criticism. They find faults with the food
on the table, with the bed in which they lie, with the railroad
train or steamboat on which they travel, with the government and
its officials, with merchants and workmen, in a word, with
the world at large and in detail. They are chronic grumblers. Instead
of being content in the state in which they are, they have
learned to be discontented, no matter how happy their lot. If
they had been placed in the Garden of Eden, they would have discovered
something with which to find fault. Their wretched habit empties
life of all possible joy and turns every cup to gore. On the
other hand, there are rare people who always take cheerful views
of life. They look at the bright side.
They find some joy and beauty everywhere. If the sky is covered
with clouds, they will point out to you the splendor of some
great cloud-bank piled up like mountains of glory. When the
storm rages, instead of fears and complaints, they find an
exquisite pleasure in contemplating its grandeur and majesty. In
the most faulty picture, they see some bit of beauty which
charms them. In the most disagreeable person,
they discover some kindly trait or some bud of promise. In the
most disheartening circumstances, they find something for which
to be thankful, some gleam of cheer breaking in through the
thick gloom. When a ray of sunlight streamed
through a crack in the shutter and made a bright patch on the
floor in the darkened room, the little dog rose from his dark
corner and went and lay down in the one sunny spot, and these
cheerful people live in the same way. If there is one beam of
cheer or hope anywhere in their lot, they will find it. They
have a genius for happiness. They always make the best out
of circumstances. Their good nature never fails.
They take a cheerful view of every perplexity. Such people
have a wondrous ministry in this world. They are like apple trees
when covered with blossoms, pouring a sweet fragrance all around
them. It may be worthwhile to linger
a little on the philosophy of living which produces such results. Some people are born with sunny
dispositions, with large hopefulness and joyfulness, and with eyes
for the bright side of life. Others are naturally disposed
to gloom. Yet it is still largely a matter
of culture and habit for which we are individually responsible.
Like the Apostle Paul, we can train ourselves to take cheerful
views of life and to extract contentment and enjoyment from
any circumstance. Rejoice in the Lord always, I
will say it again, rejoice! Philippians 4.4 This is clearly
a most important part of Christian culture. Joyfulness is everywhere
commended as a Christian duty. Discontent is a most detestable
fault. Morbidness is a sin. Fretfulness
grieves God. It tells of unbelief. It destroys
the soul's peace. It disfigures the beauty of Christian
character. It not only makes us soured and
unhappy in our own hearts, but its influence on others is bad.
we have no right to project the gloom of our discontent over
any other life. Our attitude is to be ever towards
joy. There is nothing so depressing
in its effect upon others as morbidness. True contentment
does not chafe under disappointments and losses, but accepts them
becomes reconciled to them, and at once looks about to find something
good in them. This is the secret of happy living. And when we come to think of
it, how senseless it is to struggle against the inevitable. Discontent
helps nothing. It never removes a hardship,
or makes a burden any lighter, or brings back a vanished pleasure.
One never feels better for complaining, It only makes him wretched. A
starling in a cage Struggles against its fate. flies against
the wire walls, and beats upon them in efforts to be free, until
its wings are all bruised and bleeding. A canary is shut in
another cage, accepts the restraint, purges itself upon its bar, and
sings. Surely the canary is wiser than
the starling.