There are some men who seem to be always on the look out for trouble and, to tell the truth, they are seldom disappointed. The man who seeks a quarrel usually finds it. Listening to such men would think that this world is one of the stormiest and most disagreeable places of which it would be possible to conceive; yet after all, it is not such a bad place and the difficulty is often in the man who is too thin-skinned. And every attempt to befriend him is liable to be looked upon as only another provocation. On the other hand, the man who goes about expecting people to be like himself, kind and brotherly, will be surprised at the kindness he meets even in the most unlikely quarters. A smile is better than a sneer, and it is apt to provoke a snarl. Two men may live in the same neighbourhood and yet may live two vastly different lives. The choice is with us. It is not the neighbourhood which is quarrelsome, but the man within us. And we have it in our power to change our neighbourhood into a pleasant and helpful one by simply changing our own ways.
Vocabulary
Disappointed—sad
Befriend—make friends with
