HEALTH AND HAPPINESS by Providence Journal

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 22, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 50.

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.

By Providence Journal

HEALTH and happiness go together. There is no use of talking about it, for they do. Not all the medicines or creeds in the world can make a bilious, nervous, sick person happy. He must be well before he can say, "I am in good condition in mind and body." There are a great many wrong notions in the world, and everybody has imbibed some of them. All have prescriptions for whoever complains. Some take this or that nostrum, others lay all unhappiness to the heart or conscience, while the trouble is the stomach or liver. And it will be so as long as the world stands, unless a reform be made in our habits.

In the first place, a man's house should be the most healthful, quiet, restful spot on earth to him. The religion of a man's life should begin here, find its spring and nurture here. All the churches and meetings under the sun cannot do or undo what his home does. When he enters there, and shuts the door behind them, he should feel that the cares, duties, business, noise, smells, and everything else of the outside world, are shut out. Here are relaxation and rest. He throws off his former life as he throws off his coat. When he sleeps, he should do it as going into the land of forgetfulness, to come back refreshed

and new. When he reads or chats with his family, it should be as he would sit down in an orchard to enjoy its fruits, or in a flower garden to be delighted and soothed by its beauty and fragrance. Home should be the club, library, picture gallery, and sanctuary.

But there are material arrangements connected with our social life, and not the least among them are cooking and breathing. Poor or partially cooked food will drive health out of the body and happiness out of the heart; and bad or no ventilation will ruin the peace of any house. One of the best and greatest blessings in a house is an open fireplace. It is where the members of the family mostly congregate, and are in the best spirits. The hearthstone has witnessed more cheerfulness, and listened to more pleasant words, and seen brighter, happier faces, than any other place in the world. The only prescription we give is to go and make your home bright and healthful, and it will be happy.—Providence Journal.