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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 5 (September 1, 1933)

Health the Source of Happiness

Health the Source of Happiness.

The following sensible remarks upon happiness and health, by Dr. D. Lechmere Anderson, in the “East Anglian Daily Times,” Ipswich, were submitted to the Magazine by Mr. P. A. Duncan, an ex-stationmaster, very well known to the older generation of railwaymen. Mr. Duncan gives every indication, in his superannuate period, of living up to the spirit of the text:-

(Photo courtesy MR. J. Ewart, Wellington.) Locomotive Cleaning Staff at Dunedin, 1899.—In the cab: Messrs. J. Black and W. Inglis. Standing (from left): J. O'Brien, W. Nicholson, J. Dow, W. F. Sligo (night foreman), J. Cornish, C. Keen, D. Scott, A. Kindley and W. Cox. Sitting: J. Finnerty, J. Gaffey, A. Littlejohn. Miss Puddy, J. Ewart, J. Stewart, W. Morrison, C. McDonald and W. Stephenson.

(Photo courtesy MR. J. Ewart, Wellington.)
Locomotive Cleaning Staff at Dunedin, 1899.—In the cab: Messrs. J. Black and W. Inglis. Standing (from left): J. O'Brien, W. Nicholson, J. Dow, W. F. Sligo (night foreman), J. Cornish, C. Keen, D. Scott, A. Kindley and W. Cox. Sitting: J. Finnerty, J. Gaffey, A. Littlejohn. Miss Puddy, J. Ewart, J. Stewart, W. Morrison, C. McDonald and W. Stephenson.

“If you wish to be happy, talk health! Look at the bright side of everything, and keep all thoughts of your ailments to yourself. Not that they should be even kept there. They must be dismissed, as far as lies in your power. To speak of disease should be a criminal offence. No one has any right to bring gloom into this world. There is nothing to be gained, everything to be lost, by harping on illness.

‘Talk health! The dreary never-ending tale
Of mortal maladies, is worn and stale;
You cannot charm, or interest, or please,
By harping on that minor chord—disease.
Say you are well, or all is well with you,
And God shall hear your words, and make
them true.'

“These lines, by an anonymous writer, should be learned by everyone. Put them to the test, at once, and your world will be better and brighter. By talking health, it is not implied that it should form a general subject of conversation. The normal man seldom thinks, far less speaks, of health—he has it. There is no reason for discussing it. Happiness, cheerfulness, hope, are all forms of health-talking.”

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