Thoughts to Build On

in the form of resentment? In various ways, and here are
a few:
IGNORE it! The cultivated· art of being able
to ignore real or imagined unpleasant past happenings will
save you much unnecessary anguish. The past is done.
You cannot change the past no matter how many times
you re-live it in memory. So why suffer the re-living of
unpleasant past experiences? Since you cannot change
them-ignore them and forget them.
"More easily said than done", you may reply.
And, if you are a particularly sensitive person, your excuse
is partially true. Are your "feelings" easily hurt? Are you
overly sensitive to what others say or do, so that you take
offense at the least word or action which does not flatter
your precious ego? Are you "thin-skinned" emotionally so
that the slightest social "cut" is a deep and painful wound?
Then here are some proven, helpful suggestions:
GET TOUGH emotionally. Be like tough Gen-
eral Smedley Butler, when he was commanding general of
the U. S. Marines. "Old Hell-Devil Butler", they called
him. And that wasn't the only name they called him,
either! He said he had been called every unprintable name
in the book. He had been cussed by experts. How did he
react? Did he feel hurt? Was he offended? Did he smolder
in resentment? Not Smedley Butler! He said, "Whenever
I hear someone cussing me, I never bother to tum my head
to see who's talking."
"Yes", you say, "But General Butler was a tough
Marine and I'm just a tender, shrinking violet." O.K.,
Violet, it's time you got over being tender-and stopped