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Sunshine

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 30, 1910

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 26.

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Sunshine

By Mrs. A. Swedberg

MRS. A. SWEDBERG
Sunlight is one of the most important elements in nature as well as in every-day life; it energizes everything that has life and activity. The sun is the great source of sunlight, and also of sunshine in its broader sense; for where there is no sunlight, sunshine is also likely to be lacking.
The value of light as a therapeutic agent is now universally recognized by the medical fraternity. Its importance as a remedial agent in the cure of disease is shown by its use in the sun-bath, the electric-light bath, the Finsen cure, etc. Among the inhabitants of the low, narrow ravines, or gorges, of Switzerland, we have many striking illustrations of the effects of lack of sunshine. The people are puny and sickly, and troubled with scrofulous diseases; but if they move to a higher altitude, where there is plenty of sunshine, a change for the better is quickly apparent. They are soon restored to health, and become more active and bright in the various occupations of life. This is one of many illustrations that might be given of the great importance of sunlight.
In general, people seem to realize the value of sunlight, yet, whether from carelessness or negligence or indifference, they do not make the use of it that they should. Many shut up their houses, and even pull down their window-shades, lest the sunlight fade their pretty carpets and upholstery, when the blessings of health and happiness which would result from living in rooms flooded with sunlight are of far greater importance and value than the carpets and furniture. All are familiar with the fact that mold and mustiness thrive in rooms and cellars from which the sunlight is shut out; and to live in an atmosphere of that kind is very injurious, not to mention its danger to life. This fact ought to warn us against shutting out the sunshine from our homes.
Sunlight is a most effective germ-destroyer. If a room should be shut up for any length of time, and germs of any kind should obtain access to it, they would multiply with great rapidity, billions upon billions of them being produced in a single day. But no germs can live in sunlight; hence if you desire to keep your homes free from germs and maintain a healthful atmosphere, throw open the windows and doors, and allow the pure and life-giving sunshine to fill every nook and corner.
Sun-baths are very beneficial, and one need not go to a sanitarium in order to take them; they can be taken in any room so located that one can expose one's body to the direct rays of the sun, care being taken, however, not to allow the more tender portions of the body to be exposed for too long a time. Those who can afford it, can construct an enclosed bathing pool in the back yard, and put a load of sand beside it, on which, after bathing, one can bask in the sun as well as in the invigorating outdoor air.
Sunlight, used as indicated above, is closely related to another kind of sunshine, of which we will now briefly speak. We often talk about sunshine in the home, when we refer to the spirit of cheerfulness and happiness which should constitute the real atmosphere of home life. We speak also of sunshiny people, meaning those who are always cheerful, whose faces are lit up with a smile, ever ready to help those in need, and to say an encouraging word to the despondent and discouraged. Such persons are indeed a blessing to the community in which they live, and their very efforts in this direction develop and increase the sunshine in their own lives. O, that we all might truly sense the great blessing of a cheerful, sunshiny life! Such a life pulsates with health and vigor, while a person who is inclined to mope and feel sour and discouraged, therebyproduces a physical condition which makes him an easy prey to disease. A discouraged person, whose life is filled with darkness and evil forebodings, can never accomplish anything very great in life. On the other hand, one who is cheerful and happy produces thereby a physical and mental condition which makes him strong, active, alert, and aggressive; such a person can much better cope with difficulties, and make a success of whatever he undertakes.
There is sunshine in the Christian life. Christ is the Sun of Righteousness, from whom proceeds all light, not only the physical light which pervades all nature, but also that spiritual light which is the essence of true religion and Christianity. The spiritual light we receive from him we receive through his Word. No true and lasting happiness and Christian cheerfulness can be had unless we live in this light. May we, then, diligently study this Word, until our hearts are filled with this blessed light which alone can make us dispensers of sunshine in our homes, in the church, and in the communities where we live, and which will always enable us to have a cheerful and happy disposition, and to scatter sunshine wherever we go.