Page:The Road to Wellville (1926).djvu/11

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Come, Join the Happy Throng

“Stop doing what makes you ill. Start doing what makes you well. The pay is double.”
It is a glorious thing to be well. For health is joy. It makes of the simplest things of life a pure delight. To walk, if there is spring in the step; to eat with relish and good digestion; to lie down at night to refreshing sleep—these things are joyous, if one has health.

To escape without pain is a low ideal of health. That is not enough. We want every sense to be keen to serve us with pleasure; every nerve to be a swift, Mercury-like messenger between the outside world and us; every muscle eager to “fetch and carry,” pull and push; every cell quickened for the constant work of renewal.

Yet, too many are careless with precious health so long as actual illness does not emphasize its loss. Too many take health for granted and neglect the simple precautions which safeguard this priceless possession. Especially is this true with regard to the foods we eat—the materials upon which the body must depend to build and repair its tissues, to regulate its vital processes, to promote its growth and health, and to provide energy for its activities.

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