You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful persons; why not make earnest efforts to be helpful to others by your own cheerfulness and amiability? Strew the road with flowers for others, and in turn your own pathway will be scattered with roses.
Montaigne says: "The most manifest sign of wisdom is contented cheerfulness, and it is undoubtedly true that a cheerful man has a creative power which a pessimist never possesses."
@A merry heart goes all the day; A sad tires in a mile.
Lew Wallace tells us; "A man's task is always light if his heart is light," and there is wisdom in the Spanish proverb: "Who sings in grief procures relief."
The presence of a good and cheerful man acts like an invigorating tonic upon all around him. Nothing disturbs his equanimity, which springs from the peace of God in his heart. The author of "The Imitation " says: "The joy of the just is from God and in God, and their rejoicing is in the truth. If there be joy in the world, truly the man of pure heart possesses it. Rejoice when thou hast done well."
Father Dignam, S.J., says in his "Retreats": "All discouragement comes from pride. Failure has nothing to do with pleasing God. A soul who fails and makes an act of contrition twenty times in the day will
