The Sights We See

Perhaps most of us had the experience of looking down form great heights, or of peering into deep chasms, to find that we seem somehow to be drawn towards the abyss—in our thoughts and feelings, if not in an actual physical sense. Gazing into an abyss may have its attractions, but it is a exceedingly hazardous pastime. Gazing needlessly into voids of other kinds also has it dangers. It has long been recognized that people tend to take on the characteristics of the thoughts they entertain, and of the atmosphere they frequent. For example, it may be noted that many who deal with elements of crime and sordidness, even with the most unquestionable of good intentions, find their thinking modified accordingly. Those who contemplate too earnestly the negative and undesirable side of living, are in constant danger of becoming negative in their lives. Impressionable youngsters who are forever seeing and reading and listening to the wrong kind of stories are liable to find their processes of thought following channels that are not wholesome and that may have a blighting effect upon their outlook. Sometimes boys in crowds, in the spirit of foolish bravado, step into the wrong part of town, or into the wrong places, jus to see what goes on. Often they found out, and, by so doing, fix images in their minds which they are likely to dwell upon too frequently and to recall to vividly. Young people away from home, sightseeing in sordid places, may acquire some colorful tales to recount, but they don’t come out untouched, because every impression that crosses their lives is there indelibly to be recalled, the undesirable a s well as the desirable. There is every reason why we should not go out of our way to mar the pattern of our thoughts—unless calls of duty require an acquaintance with such things. There is an old saying that you cannot afford to step over into the devil’s territory. Stay away form evil ground if you don’t want some of it to cling on you. Even if doesn’t touch you physically, it may mentally and spiritually. Gazing at sordid sullied things, if it does nothing worse, will certainly add its pigment to your thoughts. Unless there is a constructive purpose and an honest reason for doing so, don’t look for things that it would be unwise to find.