--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Elsbree, Willard S. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 32 number: 11 published: 1929-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Willard S. Elsbree, “Mental Holidays,” *Improvement Era* 32, no. 11 (September 1929): 921–925." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera32011unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera32011unse start_page: 921 end_page: 925 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1929-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera32011unse publication_year: 1929 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1929, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Mental Holidays Mental Holidays By Willard S. Elsbree, Professor of Education, Columbia University Lecture delivered before Summer School Students, Brigham Young University, June, 1929 Well-regulated Life ONCE upon a time there was an American citizen named Wil- loughby Z. Smith, who grew ashamed of getting through the day as a matter of course and set out to master the reason for everything he did. "In the morning before picking up his shaving cream, he took pains to inform himself on the atomic structure of face lather, with special reference to the big bubbles which stick to the sides of the follicles and the small bubbles which go down to the roots of the beard. Before he was through, Smith knew all there is to be known about catalysis, thrombosis and periphratic monotheism as under- lying a really comfortable shave. His razor he selected on the basis of a thorough insight into diagonal and perpendicular incidence upon maxillary surfaces and only after a microscopic examination of the edge of the razor. By now it was 9 : 3 0. "When he stepped into the bathtub, W. Z. Smith had under his right arm the thin-paper edition of the Home Encyclopedia in one volume. There he read up on the physical structure and chemical characteristics of household soap, with emphasis on the high suds- producing qualities obtained from the sciolistic fermentation of the abrasive constituents secured through an intensive process of shooting the oleaginous elements from a battery of neon tubes revolving at the rate of 2,500 a minute. When he dried himself it was 10:15. "As Mr. Smith pulled on his shoes he was careful to reflect on the importance of a proper adjustment of the metacarpal ligament to the subliminary bones of the arch as an essential condition to the maintenance of the erect posture which distinguishes the human skel- eton from that of quadrupeds, who know nothing about Evolution. He was careful to recall the fact that before he went to bed he would have taken 47,896 steps, according to the report of the United States Census Bureau on basic conditions in the Central Competitive Area in the year 1925. It was now 10:55. "Stepping into the little dairy room around the corner for his breakfast, Willoughby Z. Smith picked up the menu and conscien- tiously set himself to figure out the vitamins, the proteins and the 924 IMPROVEMENT ERA s*pt.. 1929 carbohydrates. It must be confessed that on occasional mornings when he was in a hurry or in a particularly unsocial-minded mood he omitted the calculations and ordered prunes, toast and coffee. But that was not often. Five days out of six he took pains to make a proper synthesis of the vitamins, the carbohydrates and the proteins. He found it somewhat less simple than the problem of the inter-aiiied debts, but almost as easy to grasp as the statistics of unemployment and the drift from the farms to the cities. "At 11:45 Willoughby Z. Smith arrived at his office with a thorough, scientific understanding of everything he had done since he got out of bed. But being two and three-quarter hours late for his job he was informed by his employer that his services would be dis- pensed with at the end of the week." — Quoted from a newspaper. This case is an excellent illustration of the person who takes life all too seriously. Few people would actually be as extreme as Mr. Smith, but there are many of us who approach him in our attitude toward the every-day affairs of this life. No one would seriously question the desirability of being curi- ous and analytical about the world in which we live and about our immediate jobs. Too many of us take our environment as a matter of course and frequently overlook and thereby fail to appreciate some very interesting and significant facts about our daily surroundings. However, life has become so complex and so intense that the serious-minded individual is doomed to despair. The teaching pro- fession especially is faced with an almost impossible task in the matter of keeping abreast of current developments in the field. Some teach- ers have told me that, in a single month, as many as twenty-five new books bearing directly on their work have been called to their atten- tion. How utterly impossible to assimilate all the wisdom in these books before a new carload pours into one's office! Some of my colleagues have advised me that in order to be really well informed I should at least read the following periodicals: The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Scribner's, The Literary Digest, The American Mercury, The Saturday Evening Post, The New Republic, The Nation, The National Geographic, Travel, The Forum, and The Scientific American, and in addition ten or twelve educational pe- riodicals. It is taken for granted that I read carefully the daily news- paper. Incidentally by actual clock hours it takes about three-quar- ters of a perfectly beautiful Sunday to do justice to the Sunday Times- In addition to this list, I am supposed to belong to the "Book of the Month Club," the "Literary Guild" and the "Book League of Amer- ica." I am frequently asked, "Have you read The Cradle of the Deep? more recently referred to as The Cradle of the Duped. D'id you like Galsworthy? or What have you read?" s 926 IMPROVEMENT ERA Sept.. 1929 If we wish to become real creators, however, and not just plod- ders and routine workers, we must not take this advice too literally. Highly important as work, study, and concentration are, they are not the sole foundation of great careers. Indeed, if such advice were fol- lowed conscientiously it would prove as much of a hindrance as a help. No matter what the field in which we are working, whether it be music, art, literature, science, business, or education, the psycho- logical process of forming ideas is the same. When we are working, studying, and observing, we are filling our minds with new facts, the material out of which ideas are fabri- cated. Some of the information acquired is retained in the conscious portion of the mind for every-day use, but much of it is stored away in the subconscious vaults of the mind. It is in this subconscious portion of the mind that our best thinking is done; here ideas are con- ceived as a result of the interaction and association of the facts and knowledge which have been acquired from time to time. Yet as long as these new ideas are in the subconscious they are of no use to their possessor or to anyone else. In order to become of use they must be transferred to the conscious region of the mind. Unfortunately, that transference cannot be effected at will. Nor can it be effected so long as the mind is consciously and tensely preoccu- pied. We should, therefore, give our minds from time to time a men- tal holiday. The sine qua non of the creation of ideas, of originality, is mental leisure — leisure that permits us to reap the benefit of our subconscious thought. The testimony of great men gives ample support to the doctrine that flashes of insight come during periods of mental relaxation. Mo- zart, for example, conceived the aria for his "Magic Flute" quintet while playing billiards; Alfred Russell Wallace had the doctrine of evolution suddenly and unexpectedly presented to his mind as he lay day-dreaming on a Malayan island. Galileo first got the idea of a pendulum when he happened to notice the motion of a huge bronze lamp swinging from the roof. Finsen lying on a roof idly watching a cat move constantly from shadow to sunshine first thought of the light cure which is now used so effectively. Beethoven used to walk cross country carrying a notebook to record ideas which came to him as he strolled. Nietsche goes so far as to say, "Do not trust an idea unless it has come to you in the open air, when one is in free motion." Edison says, "I find that in my own case the details of carrying out new ideas are arrived at by hard thinking, but the ideas them- selves are pulled out of the air so to speak. They come as a surprise." Now ideas are not the exclusive property of genius. Every in- dividual of normal intelligence and a thorough background of s*p'~ >929 MENTAL HOLIDAYS 927 knowledge in any given field is a potential creator of ideas. Add to this a keen interest and a reasonable amount of mental leisure and the creation of ideas is almost assured. Just how is one to go about being creatively lazy? There is no general formula since individual tastes and peculiarities must be taken into account. In general, everything which makes for complete men- tal relaxation for the individual concerned, whether it be taking a stroll, musing by the fireside, fishing, riding, or doing anything else which does not absorb his conscious attention, predisposes to ideas. In conclusion then. "Be lazy on occasion if you would profit to the utmost from the labors of your hours of conscious thought and effort." The Rockies Like giant sentinels they stand. Guarding the valley down below; Those lofty peaks, so stately, grand. Could tell of many a tale of woe. Their tale, exceeding fairy lore. Would tell of hardships met and won ; How pioneers in days of yore. Braved winter's cold and desert sun. How earth, so barren and forlorn. Took on new life — men toil and sow, And lo! a paradise is born, Where man might live and work and woo. Of romance, too, full many a song They'd sing, had they the voice, for while The woe. the toil, the pain was long. The heart, the soul of youth must smile. O guardians of those stalwart men Who built a glorious commonwealth. Keep well thy trust! Nor falter when All seems in vain; men live for pelf! Thy silent watch will foster faith; Thy steadfastness will reverence bring: Thy towering majesty well saith: Ascend. O man, to higher things! Benson. Arizona MAY D. MARTINEAU