Don’t Ignore the Need for Entertainment

TOO LITTLE IS AS BAD AS TOO MUCH
IN TIMES past when the work ethic was held in high regard, many viewed play as a waste of time. Now the pursuit of pleasure is for many the main purpose in life. However, work and play should balance each other.
The right kind of work gives meaning and purpose to life. Proper play refreshes the tired worker, is a welcome change that re-creates a zest for more work. Too much work over too long a time exhausts the body and depresses the spirit. Extended vacations that go beyond the refreshment needed become boring. Don’t overdo the one while ignoring the other.
We should not make the mistake that the Puritans did and view all fun as wrong. Eating is not to be condemned because of gluttony. Drinking is not outlawed because of drunkenness. Nor should entertainment be frowned on because extremists abuse it. Our concern should not be rejecting entertainment, but, rather, determining the right kinds and the right amounts.
Enjoying the Outdoors
People are turning to beaches, mountains and parks in such vast numbers that in some places overcrowding is becoming a problem. Yet these areas do offer an infinite variety of entertainment—walking, swimming, jogging, backpacking, camping, picnicking, nature study, and so on.
But it is not necessary to travel such distances. Many live where woods are nearby. Even in the backyard, birdhouses and bird-feeding stations can be erected. Or lie on your stomach sometime and observe a square foot of grass or weeds, and you will be amazed at all the activity of bugs and ants and spiders that will fascinate you. Do you live in a big city, an asphalt jungle? Even there, parks and zoos are available. Museums and planetariums delight and instruct.
Parents, plan such activities for your children. Give them some direction, some stimulus by pointing out the possibilities. Maybe you can tell them the life cycle of a butterfly or an ant. Satisfy your children’s curiosity about Jehovah’s creation. This is an entertaining way of interesting your children in Jehovah God and his earthly creations, teaching them about his purpose for earth and for them as earth’s caretakers. Do as Job 12:7-10 recommends: “Ask, please, the domestic animals, and they will instruct you; also the winged creatures of the heavens, and they will tell you. Or show your concern to the earth, and it will instruct you; and the fishes of the sea will declare it to you.”
Sometimes work itself is a recreation. A man working in an office, or a student poring over books all week, may find working in the yard relaxing, or the establishing of a small garden a satisfying project. Even in a big city there might be a small plot of ground available. Or a window box where some flowers or herbs might be grown. Many people find indoor plants a fascinating hobby that adds beauty to the home. Canaries or other birds may be kept indoors. Aquariums are fascinating projects.
There are many ways of bringing Jehovah’s interesting creations indoors for study and entertainment. Here again it is a matter of using some imagination, and of parents directing the interests of children into the various possibilities.
Hobbies
Small children delight in making mud pies! Mothers are not too enthused about this, however. But it is simply dirt, and water easily eliminates it. This fun can be turned into a hobby as the child gets a little older. The mud can become clay and the pie can become pottery. This is quite an interesting handicraft, one long practiced with great instinctive skill by different members of the wasp family. (One is even called “the potter wasp.”) Other hobbies could be making macrame hangers for flowerpots, projects in sewing, knitting, cooking, leatherwork involving braiding and embossing, and many others.
“Window shopping” is an activity that makes many strong men tremble, but many women and girls relish it. Mothers can even make it instructive. Prices, quality, bargains and economic principles can be discussed. It is also an inexpensive excursion, especially if it is indulged in when the stores are closed.
Another interesting source of entertainment that is also educational is visiting factories. Take the family through a printing establishment, a newspaper office, a textile plant, a chocolate factory, an automobile plant or a coal mine. Many factories conduct tours, and to see how many everyday products are manufactured is extremely interesting and entertaining. A trip through a steel mill, for example, could easily become the subject for a written or oral report in the classroom.
Strictly for Fun
Entertainment does not always have to be educational. It may be just for the fun of it. This will also have value. It will recreate and refresh both young and old for the more serious affairs of life.
However, people’s interests differ. What interests one may bore another. A person’s sex can also make a difference in his or her interests. Also one’s age! Older persons should not think the young will always be content to sit and talk or read or play checkers just because they are. Teen-agers are bursting with energy that needs release. They may crave a game of baseball, volleyball, badminton, handball, basketball, soccer, or some other active recreation.
Maybe two or more families can go to the park and have a picnic. Afterward those who wish may visit and talk, others with pent-up energy may release it by means of one of these games. If there is good-natured competition no harm is done; but if winning becomes all-important then arguments are raised and the fun is spoiled.
Smaller children may find swings to play on, or a sandbox to use. Even empty cartons or a few sticks or blocks of wood become houses or caves, or airplanes or cars, or whatever the children’s active imagination chooses to make them. Many times expensive toys lie idle as children spend all afternoon on a sandpile or playing with a large carton, their imaginations turning these into whatever suits their fancy of the moment. A plastic fire truck costing 20 dollars is always a fire truck. But a big cardboard box—Ah! that can be anything!
Adults enjoy watching children play, or watching the ball game others are playing, and maybe even joining in as they feel up to it. Families together in this way become better families, more closely knit, and generation gaps are avoided. Also, this arrangement provides for supervision where it is needed. If all are in agreement as to the worship of their Creator, then the spoiling of good habits by bad association is avoided. (1 Cor. 15:33) Congregations may increase in brotherly love and understanding when families not only study and preach together but also enjoy clean recreation together.
Music and Dancing
Some family members may be musically inclined. Learning to play an instrument is challenging and satisfying, and may also become a source of entertainment to listeners. If two or three or more from Christian families do this, they may eventually play together both for their enjoyment and for the pleasure of listeners. Others may even wish to dance to the music that is played.
There is nothing wrong with music, singing or instrumental, or with dancing. Instrumental music and singing were involved in Jehovah’s worship in Israel. Young and old danced to music, sometimes singly and at other times in group dances. (Ex. 15:20; Ps. 87:7; 149:3; 150:4; Judg. 11:34; Jer. 31:13; Matt. 11:17; Luke 15:25) On one of these occasions an objection was raised to vigorous dancing, but not with Jehovah’s approval.—2 Sam. 6:20.
However, dancing is like the eating and drinking mentioned earlier: it may be good or bad, depending on the control exercised. Music may be soft and flowing, or it may have a strong beat, but it should not be raucous or so loud that it endangers a person’s hearing or disturbs others. The dancing is not good or bad depending on whether it is slow or fast, but if it becomes sexually suggestive or stimulating, it goes beyond proper entertainment!
Experience has established the need of proper supervision for such occasions, not, of course, to curtail proper clean, innocent fun but to curb extremes that imperil Christian morality. Even the waltz can become immoral in certain environments. Folk dances, square dances and most modern dances can be properly enjoyed, but, in wrong surroundings, they can also degenerate.
Reading and Conversation
There are good books and magazine articles that can entertain, but there are also those that damage morality. The latter should “not even be mentioned among you” who are Christians. The standard should be those things that are true, virtuous and praiseworthy.—Eph. 5:3; Phil. 4:8.
The same guideline would apply to movies and television. There are still some motion pictures that are clean and properly entertaining, but they are becoming the exception rather than the rule. Many television programs still are relaxing and educational. Documentaries cover science, natural history, current happenings and other interesting fields. They, along with good reading, equip us to converse enjoyably with one another.
Converse? Yes, conversation is not dead. The desire for it is still shown by the popularity of television talk shows. But many people seem no longer able to converse interestingly. They talk but do not communicate stimulating thoughts and ideas. However, even such persons can be drawn out to reveal interesting facts about themselves. Their childhood, their first job, why they decided on their particular career, how they came to accept their religion—questions drawing them out on such topics result in surprisingly interesting conversations.
If we are perceptive, courteous, tactful and sincerely complimentary, others who normally are quiet will respond and communicate freely. Being interested in them makes you interesting to them. Soon a two-way, or four- or six-way conversation is flowing along, to the enjoyment of all participants. Conversation fascinated the Greeks and their visitors in the first century of our Common Era: “All Athenians and the foreigners sojourning there would spend their leisure time at nothing but telling something or listening to something new.”—Acts 17:21.
Read, observe, listen, think and you will have fresh new thoughts to contribute to entertaining conversations. Avoid being argumentative or dogmatic. That kills communication. Be pleasant and tasteful, a delightful conversationalist.—Prov. 15:1; 16:21-24; 25:11; Eccl. 12:10; Col. 4:6.
In conclusion, don’t just deny objectionable entertainment. Give suitable alternatives. If your religion blanketly condemns all entertainment, your children will leave you and it as soon as possible. So don’t leave an entertainment vacuum. (Matt. 12:43-45)

The Art of Conversation

“GOOD talk is like good scenery—continuous, yet constantly varying, and full of the charm of novelty and surprise.” So said author Randolph S. Bourne.

Indeed, people find great delight in good scenery. Similarly, those who develop the art of conversation derive great pleasure and benefit from it. They enjoy exchanging ideas, opinions and sentiments with others.

‘I wish it were always easy and delightful to converse with my acquaintances,’ you may remark. ‘But all too often, that is not the case. What can I do about it?’ Perhaps a great deal.

Time and Place

First of all, do not be discouraged if your efforts to converse falter occasionally. Everyone has that experience. After all, you can hardly have a good discussion with someone who just makes a terse reply and really does not want to talk. Perhaps he has a very pressing matter on his mind.

When it comes to conversing, time and place are important. Admittedly, it is futile—even inconsiderate—to try speaking at any length with a cook when smoke is pouring from her kitchen. The urgent matter of the moment is that burning cauliflower or flaming steak!

The Bible makes the point very well. It says: “For everything there is an appointed time . . . a time to keep quiet and a time to speak.” (Eccl. 3:1, 7) Possibly, a person is meditating, reading a book or adding a long column of figures. Or a serious problem may have arisen and the individual is deep in thought. In such cases, how true the old saying, “Silence is golden”!

Preparing for Good Conversation

But at social gatherings or informal dinners you would like to engage in good conversation. What can you do about it?

Advance preparation may be required, especially if you are the host. You might make mental notes about current events and matters of interest in the community. Consider the occupations and activities of those invited to the gathering. If necessary, do some research. Then you should be able to say something about the work, hobbies or interests of those present.

Even in spontaneous conversation, do not feel that you have nothing to say. Actually, you have been preparing a long time for your next conversation. How so? Well, you have taken in knowledge by schooling and life experience. Moreover, likely you have done some reading. Perhaps you have gleaned points from personal study of the Holy Scriptures. So, you see—you do have something worth while to talk about. At the right time and place, you can make excellent contributions to good conversation.

Organize some thoughts ahead of time. Determine generally what you might say on a particular subject. Perhaps some details will be unnecessary. But you may need to supply facts about who, what, why, when, where and how, particularly if you are going to tell about an incident.

Promoting Good Conversation

Questions can be very helpful in promoting good conversation. Robert Louis Stevenson once remarked: “You start a question and it’s like starting a stone from on top of a hill; away the stone goes, starting others.” Comparably, a thoughtful query may bring prompt response and open the way for pleasant conversation.

Therefore, to start a conversation, or to keep it going, why not use choice questions? No, not the prying, personal type. (Why have you and Mrs. Smith separated after twenty years of marriage?) Nor the kind that amounts to a test of intelligence. (What were the seven wonders of the ancient world?) Questions like those would probably make most guests wish they were elsewhere.

On the other hand, searching questions that call for opinions are not amiss, as long as they are not deliberately controversial. Leading questions might deal with current events or problems. (How do you think food can be provided for earth’s starving millions?) Even a hypothetical query may not be objectionable. (During what period of history more than any other would you like to have lived?) But do not overdo this type. And, naturally, the conversation will progress much more smoothly if we are polite and do not interrupt when questions are being answered.

Fine experiences can add zest and interest to conversations. So, think about things that have happened to you, or activities in which you have shared. These experiences may be worth telling. Of course, a detailed account of one’s recent hospitalization or surgery may be factual, but is it encouraging to listeners? How much better to select experiences that bring them delight! When true Christians gather socially, they often tell fine experiences about their activities in preaching the good news of God’s kingdom.

When relating experiences, you will please your listeners if you eliminate unnecessary details. This gives the story clarity and saves them mental effort that might otherwise be needed to sort out the facts. Another point: Why continually be the hero or heroine of the account? Take a broad view, showing the role that others may have played.

Keep It Dignified, Uplifting

You know that if the air becomes laden with smog, even the most beautiful scenery can lose appeal. Comparably, a good conversation can become unappealing, even distressing, if it is not kept on a high plane. The atmosphere or prevailing mood must remain good for a conversation to be appealing and beneficial. How vital, then, that it be kept dignified and uplifting!

Dignified conversation does not call for extremely big words and high-sounding language, however. Of course, there is something to be said in favor of vocabulary building. Nevertheless, a friendly conversation is no time to show off with verbal blockbusters.

Asked about housing accommodations, a diplomat once replied: “We are in the ambassadorial residence, subject of course to some of the discomfiture as a result of the need for elements of refurbishing and rehabilitation.” What was that? Well, one writer gave the gist in these words: “We’re redecorating right now, so the house is in a bit of a mess.” Unquestionably, plain talk is preferable and most people appreciate it.

Risqué stories and unclean speech certainly are out of place among those who have self-respect and regard for others. Quite appropriately, the Bible advises: “Let a rotten saying not proceed out of your mouth, but whatever saying is good for building up as the need may be, that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers.”—Eph. 4:29.

Yet, what if a guest is telling obscene jokes and using profane language? Others can try to change the subject. If these efforts are unavailing, the host might take the person aside and tell him that his speech is displeasing. A harsh measure? Not really. Left unchecked, the offender may ruin the occasion for everyone present.

During a conversation, some remarks may be made about people. These statements may be upbuilding and quite unobjectionable. But what if the conversation deteriorates, turning toward injurious slander? Will you lend an ear to such talk? You can hardly do so unless you want to be classed as a participant. Then, will you have the courage, perhaps as the host, to direct the conversation back “uphill”? Doubtless others present would appreciate that.

Adding to the Pleasure

Pleasant conversation can be enhanced in various ways. For instance, the person speaking with us can let his face “talk” in a pleasing manner. How? By smiling when that is appropriate.

One who has done well in developing the art of conversation also contributes to our pleasure by speaking distinctly. Moreover, he has empathy. He puts himself in our place and avoids saying things that needlessly would cause us pain or embarrassment. Such an individual never talks down to us either, as though we were far beneath him mentally.

You probably have noticed that some people are interested in talking only about themselves. If the conversation momentarily touches on your experiences, opinions or problems, such a person quickly shifts it back to what interests him, what his opinion is, what his day was like. Obviously, though, the good conversationalist is not self-centered. For that matter, he avoids talking too much.

The Need to Listen

Yes, the good conversationalist gives the other person a chance to speak. He knows that rewarding conversation is a ‘two-way street.’ Its essential elements are talking and listening.

Manifesting empathy, the good listener tries to understand the speaker’s viewpoint, perhaps even entering imaginatively into his situation. However, since the mind thinks much faster than a person can talk, there is time to analyze what is being said and then to draw conclusions. Why not try this during your next conversation?

Ask questions, too, and show real interest in the answers given. Look at the person conversing with you. Naturally, you do not want to stare at him. But avoid gazing at some object in the room or continuously glancing from place to place, for the speaker might then conclude that you are insincere or disinterested. By all means, give him your undivided attention. How much all of us can learn by really listening to others!

Persons who develop the art of conversation will find that “good talk is like good scenery.” Both can leave delightful impressions on the mind. Make the effort to engage others in conversation and often you will find it full of novelty, surprise, pleasure and lasting benefit.

Coping With Today’s Hectic Pace

A WORKING man spends his weekends watching football games on TV and then complains he has no time to take his children to the zoo. A housewife religiously follows a TV serial week after week and then bemoans having so little time to care for her household chores. Is the problem a lack of time or the poor use of it?

Good management of time requires following the principle stated in the Bible at Philippians 1:10: “Make sure of the more important things.”

Yes, first set your priorities so that if something must be neglected, it will be something relatively unimportant. Try making a list of all the tasks to be performed in, say, a week and divide them into two categories: (1) What I must do and (2) What I would like to do.

Secular work, shopping, and household repairs, as well as spending time with the family, would fall into the first category. For the true Christian, attending congregation meetings, sharing one’s faith with others, and Bible study should also be given priority.—Matthew 6:33.

If the list seems overwhelming, perhaps some must-be-done activities are really not so necessary after all. Or you might try combining activities. For example, if you have household chores, why not teach your children how to do some of them? This not only will increase your capacity to get things done but will give you precious moments to enjoy with your children.

But what about the list of things you would “like to do”? The possibilities are enormous. Yet you simply cannot do everything. So calculate the expense of such activities. (Luke 14:28) Will they reduce—or add—stress to your life? Will they add to the burden of household expenses? Might they interfere with things that need to be done?

Avoid the snare of overscheduling yourself—cramming in so many things that you run around frantically. Allot yourself sufficient time in which to accomplish your tasks. A retired building contractor gave a sound piece of advice to a young man whom he had invited for a cup of tea. The young man declined the invitation, saying: “I have to be downtown at 4:50 p.m.”

“What kind of appointment is that?” the contractor asked. “Try to make your appointments for full hours,” he advised, “or otherwise you can run yourself to death.”

Why Coping Is Difficult

These suggestions may prove helpful. But remember that stress and hurry are just the legacies of the “hard to deal with” times in which we live. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Today’s world is truly a world in a hurry. But the fact that human relations are deteriorating and world problems are proliferating shows that all this hurry is getting people nowhere.

Actually, the world is living on borrowed time. “The time left is reduced,” the Bible warns. (1 Corinthians 7:29) Jesus Christ pointed forward to this very time in which we are now living, saying that the present world distress is evidence that his Kingdom is at hand. (Luke 21:10, 11, 28-31) Satan the Devil therefore has “great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” (Revelation 12:12) His entire world system is rushing toward destruction, and all his attempts to prevent this are for nothing!

True, there is little you can do about the direction in which the world is heading. But you can do much to ensure peace and tranquillity in your own life. No, tranquilizing drugs are not the answer; nor do time-management techniques work for everyone. Far more helpful are knowledge and understanding of the Bible. The Bible?

Yes, for the Bible indicates that it is desirable for Christians to go on leading “a calm and quiet life with full godly devotion and seriousness.” (1 Timothy 2:2) Is that possible? It is, for though you are still subject to the pressures of these critical “last days,” the Bible can help you develop a fresh perspective on life.

Take your job as an example. If your life revolves around “godly devotion and seriousness” rather than material things, you won’t be in a big hurry to accumulate things your cannot afford. Knowing that “the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things,” you can be content with “sustenance and covering.” (1 Timothy 6:8, 10) And because your job will occupy only a secondary place in your life, you may even make time for needed rest and relaxation. “Better is a handful of rest than a double handful of hard work and striving after the wind.”—Ecclesiastes 4:6.

Some are able to cut back on their secular work. One man who was the director of a large firm recalls: “After 23 years of exertion, I had a good salary, free health care, good pension, and so forth. But to get all these things, you have to spend more and more time and energy at your job. Eventually you have no time of your own. And anytime something other than work is set before you, you find yourself saying, ‘I am sorry, but I am much too busy.’” So this man left his prestigious post. True, this meant a simpler life-style. But it also meant more time for his family and Christian activities.

Setting Proper Priorities

In view of the critical times in which we live, a true Christian cannot have a casual attitude toward spiritual matters. Consider Zacchaeus, a man the Bible calls a rich tax collector. Desiring to know more about Jesus, he once climbed a tree to get a better look at him as he passed through town. The account reads: “Now when Jesus got to the place, he looked up and said to him: ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and get down, for today I must stay in your house.’ With that he hurried and got down and with rejoicing he received him as guest.”—Luke 19:2-6.

Imagine the benefits Zacchaeus received by entertaining Jesus and discussing spiritual matters with him! Jesus helped Zacchaeus set his priorities in order, so that Zacchaeus stopped placing emphasis on obtaining material things. “Look! The half of my belongings, Lord, I am giving to the poor,” he told Jesus, “and whatever I extorted from anyone by false accusation I am restoring fourfold.”—Luke 19:8.

True Christians today are likewise eager to take advantage of opportunities to discuss spiritual things. No longer is gaining material things a major priority with them. Rather, when they receive Christian publications that help them to learn about God and his purposes, reading them becomes a priority. And when there are meetings of fellow Christians, they strive not to miss a single minute of instruction and upbuilding fellowship.

Another good example for us is that of Lot. God’s angel had warned him that Sodom and Gomorrah were to be destroyed. Showing loving interest in others, Lot “began to speak to his sons-in-law who were to take his daughters, and he kept on saying: ‘Get up! Get out of this place, because Jehovah is bringing the city to ruin!’” But Lot himself “kept lingering,” prompting the angel to urge him to escape to God’s place of safety without delay, saying: “Hurry! Escape there, because I am not able to do a thing until your arriving there!”—Genesis 19:14, 16, 22.

Today’s world has taken on global Sodom and Gomorrah dimensions and likewise faces destruction. That is why warning others about this coming destruction foretold in the Bible is a priority in the lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Will you put as a priority in your life the investigation of this warning?

Hurrying about in vain pursuits will surely gain you nothing but heartache and nervous distress. Far better it is to learn about God and his purposes to bring about a new system of things wherein life will no longer be a mad rush!—2 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17, 21-25; Psalm 37:10, 11.

In the meantime, learn to be productively, not frantically, busy. And when it comes to learning about God’s purposes, don’t delay! Put it as your first priority!

Making Color Work for You

WHY do you enjoy looking at a cloudless sky? What makes you gaze at a display of pretty flowers? When a rainbow forms nearby, what motivates you to stare at it?
In each case, is it not the lovely colors? Color has a powerful effect upon humans. Skillfully used, color can cheer a depressed soul, stimulate productivity at work, calm jangled nerves and serve other useful purposes.
But, really, what is color? How can you make color work for you?
Colors—From Where?
Perhaps you have a fruit dish nearby containing bright-red apples. Do you realize that in themselves the apples are not red? Nor is the grass that carpets your front yard green. Objects in themselves do not possess color. What appears as color comes from a source different from the objects visualized. How so?
Color comes from light. Where there is no light, as in the blackness of night, an object has no color whatsoever. How does light interact with things to produce color?
The sun emits a vast amount of “electromagnetic energy,” or “radiation.” Included is a narrow band of wavelengths that are visible. The longest of these measures only about 32 millionths of an inch (.0008 millimeter) from crest to crest, which we see as red light. As light waves get progressively shorter, they appear as orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (a deep violet-blue) and violet. The wavelengths that produce violet light measure only some 16 millionths of an inch (.0004 millimeter) from crest to crest.
What about white light? This occurs when all the wavelengths are mixed together, as in the case of sunlight. Only when these wavelengths are separated do we see the individual colors making up the sunlight.
This can be demonstrated by using a triangular-shaped piece of glass called a prism. If a person directs a thin beam of white light toward a white screen and places a prism in the light’s path, what appears on the screen will be, not white light, but the full color spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Why does this happen? Because the prism bends each wavelength to a different degree, thus separating them. Probably you have viewed a similar effect after rainstorms, when droplets of water in the air act as prisms, separating sunlight into its basic colors—producing the multicolored rainbow.
Things in Color—Why?
But why do we see objects as red, yellow, blue and other colors? Because various substances called pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others. What is reflected back to the eye appears as the color of the object. Grass looks green, for example, because the pigments in it absorb all the wavelengths of sunlight except green, which is reflected back to us. When all wavelengths of light are absorbed, an object looks black. This would happen, for instance, if you were to shine only yellow or red light on a blue towel. Since the towers pigment reflects only blue and there is no blue in yellow or red light, the towel would absorb all the yellow or red light and appear black. Rather than a color, therefore, black is the absence of color.
Scientists speak of certain “primary colors.” These are ones from which the greatest possible number of combinations can be made. The primary colors in light are red, blue and green. When red and blue light are combined, the result is a bluish-red called magenta. Mixing blue and green light produces a bluish-green called cyan. Red and green light go together to make yellow. All three combined give white light.
You will not get the same results, however, from mixing paints. This is because, in this instance, you are mixing pigments that reflect light rather than mixing lights of different colors. The primary colors for light are, therefore, not the same as those for paint. The three colors that result in the widest variety of combinations for paint are red, yellow and blue. Mixing two primary paint colors produces a “secondary color,” halfway between the two primaries used. Red and yellow give orange; yellow and blue make green; blue and red produce violet, or purple as some prefer to call it. Midway between the primary and secondary colors are “intermediate colors.” These are yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green and yellow-green.
Would you enjoy learning how to use colors? If so, the “color wheel” and “color triangle” can help you. What are these?
The “Color Wheel” and “Color Triangle”
The primary, secondary and intermediate colors mentioned above amount to twelve. Many have found it practical to arrange these into a color wheel patterned after the face of a clock. First, place the primary colors at an equal distance from one another. If you put yellow at 12 o’clock, then red could appear at 4 o’clock and blue at 8 o’clock. Inserting the secondary colors between the primaries would result in orange at 2 o’clock, violet at 6 o’clock and green at 10 o’clock. Filling the remaining six spaces with the intermediate colors results in a color wheel such as that shown on the previous page.
But where do the many browns and beiges find accommodation in this color system? They fall inside the color wheel. If you mix all three primaries (or, if you prefer, the secondaries) in carefully controlled proportions you can get infinite varieties of olive-greens, light and dark browns and beiges.
How can this device assist you to harmonize colors? Often pleasing results come from using complementary colors. These are located opposite each other in the color wheel. Thus, you may find that red goes well with green, blue with orange, yellow with violet, and so forth. Some have worked out excellent four-color schemes by combining two sets of complements. However, finding a satisfying color scheme has much to do with your individual personality. What delights one person may clash in the opinion of another.
Quite often a color goes well with the two on either side of its complement. For example, blue combines pleasingly with yellow-orange and red-orange. Another fine arrangement is a triad, made up of colors spaced equally from one another. Combinations such as blue-green, yellow-orange and red-violet, as well as the primary colors, red, yellow and blue, are examples of triads.
Pleasant, too, is the use of adjacent colors, that is, those next to one another on the color wheel. For instance, you will find that yellow, yellow-green and yellow-orange blend nicely, as do violet, blue-violet and red-violet. Another interesting method is known as a mutual complement. This combines five adjacent colors with the complement of the middle one. If, for example, you chose as adjacent colors green, yellow-green, yellow, yellow-orange and orange, the sixth color would be violet, the complement of the middle one (in this case yellow).
What about variations of a single color? Such variations are made by diluting a color with a neutral pigment, either white or black. Here you will benefit from using a “color triangle.” What is that? “A color triangle,” notes The World Book Encyclopedia, “has a color at one angle, black at another, and white at the third. If a color from the color wheel, such as red, is mixed with white, the result is a tint—in this case, pink. If we mix red with black, the result is a shade—in this case, maroon. And if we mix red with both black and white, the result is a tone—in this case, rose.” Such a color triangle might look like the one on page seventeen.
How does one use this? “In a color triangle,” continues the same reference work, “the colors in any straight line form pleasing combinations. A pure color harmonizes with tints and white, with shades and black, or with tones and gray. A tint and a tone blend with black, and a shade and a tone go well with white. Groups of tints, shades, or tones also harmonize well.”
Did you know that color can even make a room appear larger or smaller than its true size? Interior decorating expert Florence Byerly writes:
“Color can change the apparent size of a room. It can also hide or emphasize features in the room. To make a room appear larger, paint it a pale, cool color. The walls will seem to recede, or move farther away. To make a room appear smaller, use a bright color that advances, or seems to jump out at you. You can hide a bulky chair, or make it look smaller, by having it the same color as its background. You can emphasize an object or an area by using contrasting colors. For example, white dishes that seem lost in a white cupboard look striking in a cabinet lined with deep green.”
Have you tried any of these ways of making color work for you? If you intend to do so, there is something else that you ought to know about color. What is that?
Psychological Effects of Color
Colors have notable psychological effects and can be used to good advantage. “From our work,” notes color expert Faber Bitten, “we have found that people react quite differently in a colorful environment than in a drab one, although they themselves may not be conscious of it. The natural condition for the human being is to live in a constantly changing environment—of light, color, forms. There’s no such thing as a monotonous environment in nature. Today we know that children’s intelligence actually degenerates in a monotonous environment.” What, then, are the effects of basic colors?
Among the “warm” colors are red and orange. These are lively and tend to excite emotions and stimulate certain bodily functions. According to the book The Art of Color and Design, red light “accelerates the pulse and raises blood pressure.” Persons who prefer red are often impulsive and energetic, with strong personalities and a craving for action and success. Properly used, red and orange can be stimulating, but overuse produces tension.
Another warm color is yellow. Bright, clear yellow reminds one of the sun and is cheerful, gay and lively. On the other hand, the darker yellows and greenish yellows are not popular. In the minds of many they suggest things such as sickness, cowardice, envy and treachery. But when properly related to other colors, these yellows contribute to a delightful overall effect.
The “cool” colors, including violets, blues and greens, are tranquil and serene. They have a calming effect upon people. In contrast to the results of red light upon humans, blue light has been found to retard the pulse rate and lower blood pressure. Light blue is soothing, suggesting blue skies and the waters of rivers and lakes. Light green is another restful color, reminding one of the outdoors. If your needs are in the direction of a calm, tension-free life, these may be your color preference.
As to choosing wall colors, Florence Byerly advises: “When choosing a wall color, get the largest paint samples available. Tape several on a wall near your draperies. Look at them by both daylight and lamplight. Remember that a color is influenced by its surroundings. A subtle, dull sample will show in its true color when placed beside white paper.”
Color is among the special blessings that mankind enjoys because of God’s gift of light. “Color is one of the natural delights of this world,” remarks Faber Birren. “It is the rule of nature, not the exception, and much of the good life depends on it.” In view of this, why not take the time to make color work for your greater enjoyment?

How to Make the Best Use of Your Time

SINCE his beginning, man has measured events in a framework of time. Though no man knows exactly what time is, it is reckoned among the most valuable things of which man is aware. A segment of time that has passed by can never be retrieved.
Everyone has the same amount of time at his disposal each day. Time is valuable, however, only when it is used for a good purpose. Many persons allow precious hours and days to slip by with little or no accomplishment. Others frantically try to keep working every moment, only to end up nervous wrecks.
What about you? Do you find that time slips away easily? Are you able to complete necessary tasks in the allotted time? Could you make better use of your time?
Solving the Problem of Wasted Time
If you were to write down, hour by hour, what you do in a typical day, you would probably be surprised at the amount of time wasted. Many exclaim: “I simply don’t know where the time goes.” What can help people to solve the problem of wasted time? R. Alec Mackenzie, a leading management consultant, answers:
“Self-discipline. Before you can master time you must first master yourself. And the rewards make it eminently worthwhile.”
Could your problem be that time is lost just in your getting started? Many waste valuable minutes lingering in bed in the morning or at the breakfast table. Then, when they arrive at work, they may socialize or care for a number of personal matters before beginning work. Is that what you do? Why not try getting up fifteen minutes earlier each day, readying your clothes or briefcase the night before, or getting down to business as soon as you reach your place of work? This small effort may have a beneficial effect on your whole day.
Interruptions in the form of telephone calls or unexpected visitors can easily foil well-laid plans for a productive day’s work. Does this happen to you regularly? If so, do not feel that it is impolite to tell people that you are busy. If you specify when you can give them more of your time, they will be assured of your interest in speaking with them, and, after a while, your acquaintances will become accustomed to periods when you are not available for conversation.
Fatigue is a great robber of time. What can you do about it? Perhaps all you need is a change of pace, switching from mental to physical work, or vice versa. Keep in mind that you have certain energy peaks each day. Though these vary with different persons, many find that their most productive hours are during the late morning or the early afternoon. What do you do during your energy peaks?
Too much emphasis on leisure may rob one of valuable time. But even those who are ambitious may waste time. How so? Some try to tackle everything at once. Instead of working systematically, completing each step before proceeding to the next one, they nervously dart back and forth among matters unrelated to one another. This results in frustration and tension, with little being accomplished.
Certain persons have the habit of taking on more responsibility than they can reasonably carry out. Are you among those who lament that they “just can’t say No” when asked to do something? How unwise to be that way! Surely you cannot make the best use of your time fretting about a pile of work that you will never get to do.
Never be afraid to let others lend a helping hand. Housewives, for instance, can delegate innumerable minor chores to their children. Even little tots can learn to put their clothes away, put dirty dishes in the sink, tidy up their rooms and run errands. You will find, too, that children are happier when kept busy, whereas long periods of inactivity are sure to breed frustration.
Goals Are Time-Savers
Have you noticed the number of people who squander years of their lives “hanging out” in taverns, on street corners, or engaging in leisurely pursuits? What is lacking in the lives of these people? Worthwhile goals. Knowing what you want to do and planning in advance to meet the goals that you set will help you to make better use of your time.
What are your goals in life? Have you given this matter much thought? When you do, remember the Bible’s wise counsel at Ecclesiastes 5:10: “A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any lover of wealth with income. This too is vanity.” Proverbs 16:16 stresses the value of spiritual goals over material ones, saying: “The getting of wisdom is O how much better than gold! And the getting of understanding is to be chosen more than silver.” Making the very best use of your time, therefore, calls for “buying out the opportune time” for Bible study, which is the only source of godly wisdom and understanding.—Eph. 5:16.
Once you have decided on your most important goals, write down the progressive steps that will lead up to each of these, including the very next step that you expect to take in the near future. Then read over what you have written. Check to see if there are any steps that can be skipped. Eliminating them in advance will enable you to reroute time for things that really need to be done.
Use the same method for your more immediate goals at work or in the family. Let us say, for example, that you want to paint the inside of your house. As a whole, this may seem like too big a job to undertake. But, if you break it down into progressive steps, say, one room at a time, it will seem much easier to achieve. And each completed step serves as an incentive to press on to finish the job.
Obviously some of your goals will be more important than others. Be sure to work at things of greater importance first; and heed the advice of the publication How to Organize Your Time: “You can do only one thing at a time. If you try to do that one thing while worrying about the other jobs . . . you’ll take longer on the job you are doing and get still further behind the 8-ball.”
Deadlines Can Be Beneficial
Professor C. Northcote Parkinson observed: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” You have probably noticed that, if you have a whole day to do something, you will most likely spend all day on it; whereas under pressure you might have completed the same task in a few hours. Many have found that making better use of their time calls for imposing reasonable deadlines upon themselves. Joseph D. Cooper writes in How to Get More Done in Less Time:
“There are advantages to performance under pressure. You get into a driving spirit that countenances fewer marginal actions, fewer interruptions . . . Your pace quickens, you become more decisive. You infect others with your own businesslike effort. You discourage them from interrupting you or otherwise tampering with your own rate of progress.”
Some might fear that they would be unable to work under the pressure of a deadline. But setting reasonable time limits for each step in a project may actually serve to lessen the intensity of pressure later by distributing it more evenly over the whole job. A person who does this challenges himself to keep within his time budget. And what a relief not to have to face frenzied cramming at the last minute!
When you set deadlines, though, avoid being overly rigid. Revise them if they prove unattainable. And do not fail to allow some time for unexpected mishaps and interruptions. Management consultant Mackenzie, quoted above, recommends that a person leave 20 percent of his day unplanned, “just to be able to cope with unanticipated developments.”
Keep in mind, too, that making the best use of one’s time does not mean working at something every minute. Eric Johnston, an adviser to executives, wrote: “Each man at some point during each day should set aside a shred of time in which to do absolutely nothing. That’s right—nothing.” Periods of relaxation are indispensable. They refresh both body and mind and enable people to return to work with heightened interest and determination.
Some Time Resources Often Overlooked
People who wish to make the best use of their time will do well to reflect on time resources that are often overlooked. Consider some of these: Many people in the industrialized world have about forty minutes from the time that they get up until they leave for work; when they arrive home from work there may be another four or five hours before retiring. That amounts to well over twenty hours a week. Two-day weekends provide about three months a year of free time.
Of course, much of this time is spent in dressing, eating, sleeping or in family activities. But could not some of it be channeled to necessary reading, mowing the lawn or doing other odds and ends that need attention?
Easily overlooked, too, is time spent in waiting. Every day thousands of people wait in lines, in waiting rooms, or for others to show up for appointments. In an article entitled “Getting the Most Out of Odd Moments,” the author remarks:
“None of us would think of throwing away the nickels and quarters and dimes that accumulate in our pockets. But almost all of us do throw away the small-change time—five minutes here, a quarter hour there—that accumulates in any ordinary day. I figure I probably threw away a full working day in the dentist’s office this past year, flicking sightlessly through old magazines.”
The writer of the aforementioned article became a “wait-watcher,” putting her waiting time to work writing letters and caring for other correspondence. She was delighted with the results.
How can you make the best use of your time? Establish worthwhile goals and work at them step by step; give yourself a push by getting started on time and setting realistic deadlines for each stage of your work. Self-discipline and good organization will help you to use your most productive hours wisely. And do not fail to dip into your resource of odd hours that may otherwise be wasted.