Thoughts to Build On

only to escalate the pain of sorrow, providing neither
comfort nor consolation.
OVER-REACTION in JOY seems to be a sort
of super-happy experience which constructively accents
the positive in conh'ast to the negative impact and damag-
ing results of over-reacting in anger and grief. It has been
recommended by such philosophical statements as, "When
once the cup of pleasure is to your lips, drink it to the
dregs; it may not come again." Yet it is wise not to over-
react even to joy because as Longfellow said, "Not enjoy-
ment and not sorrow is our destined end or way." So do as
Kipling advised: "Meet with triumph and disaster and treat
those two imposters just the same." Only by such even-
handedness can you maintain psychiatrist Dr. Karl Men-
ninger's requirement of "Vital Balance."
The wise men insistently are telling us that
the pendulum of Life swings back and forth. And, the
psychiatrists say that our reactions determine both ex-
tremes of its arc. The pleasure-pain graph-line of Life
goes up and down, but we may control its peaks and
valleys by the extent of our reaction or over-reaction to
the direction of its movement.
We should curb OVER-REACTION and ex-
tremism in any direction-and seek, instead, psychiatrist
Dr. Karl Menninger's "Vital Balance" as a way to equanim-
ity-for only in calmness and serenity will we find peace
of mind.