two timid, poorly dressed children staring at her from a distance. Learning that they were orphans, she took them to a drugstore for some refreshments, chatted with them and bought them some presents. Did this help the woman to cope with the grief of losing her husband? She continues:

“Those two little orphans did far more for me than I did for them. That experience showed me again the necessity of making other people happy in order to be happy ourselves. I found that happiness is contagious. By giving, we receive. By helping someone and giving out of love, I had conquered worry and sorrow and self-pity, and felt like a new person. And I was a new person​—not only then, but in the years that followed.”

Persons who think that they can no longer cope may feel in need of help, rather than feeling that they are in position to give it. Nevertheless, doing a kindness for someone else will always lift one’s spirits, making it easier to cope with life. Jesus Christ said: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” (Acts 20:35) But what if you have no money or other material things to give away? Consider another experience that unexpectedly lifted someone out of despondency.

“The tragedy of my girlhood and young womanhood was our poverty. We could never entertain the way the other girls in my social set entertained. My clothes were never of the best quality. I outgrew them and they didn’t fit and they were often out of style. I was so humiliated, so ashamed, that I often cried myself to sleep.

“Finally, in sheer desperation, I hit upon the idea of always asking my partner at dinner parties to tell me about his experience, his ideas, and his plans for the future. I didn’t ask these questions because I was especially interested in the answers. I did it solely to keep my partner from looking at my poor clothes.

“But a strange thing happened: as I listened to these young men talk and learned more about them, I really became interested in listening to what they had to say. I became so interested that I myself sometimes forgot about my clothes. But the astounding thing for me was this: since I was a good listener and encouraged the boys to talk about themselves, I gave them happiness and I gradually became the most popular girl in our social group and three of these men proposed marriage to me.”

A third experience deals with the value of giving spiritually. It too was unexpected and helped a person better to cope with the unpleasantness of a chronic illness. One of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Illinois relates:

“I had just recently spent another 10 or 12 days in the hospital with a very aggravating chronic disease. Now that I was back home, I planned once again to go out from house to house to share Bible truths with my neighbors. When the day for this arrived, however, I felt exceptionally, depressed. Though I decided to go anyway, I said to the person who was to accompany me: ‘Just let me listen this morning. I can hardly talk to a friend, much less a stranger.’

“My partner agreed to this. She knocked at a door and began talking with a woman, who eventually invited us in. Immediately I joined in on the discussion, sharing Scriptural thoughts with the householder. Noting her appreciation for what she was hearing, my depression gave way to sheer joy. By the time we left that call, I couldn’t have even described what depression meant. The joy in sharing Bible truth is indescribable.”

Do you become despondent at times? If so, fight hard against excessive self-pity by seeking out ways to help others. Though this may not remove the cause of your sorrow, it will surely help you to cope with the problem.​—Luke 6:38; Phil. 4:8, 9.

Discerning Judges Protect Minority Rights

A FAMOUS judge of deep discernment once said: “The law knows no finer hour than when it cuts through formal concepts and transitory emotions to protect unpopular citizens against discrimination.”a

A fine example of this impartial justice occurred recently at the city of Tacoma in the state of Washington, U.S.A.

It was there that a minority religious group decided to erect a building for the worship of God. This was to be in Pierce County, eight miles (13 kilometers) from Tacoma. The structure would seat 1,800 people for combined religious meetings of several congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nine acres (3.6 hectares) of land had been obtained in this sparsely settled area where zoning ordinances permitted a “church,” or place of worship, to be built.

Carefully prepared plans and documents, even surpassing technical requirements, were filed. Every cooperation was given the officials. The Health Department gave approval. With slight modifications, the Engineering Department gave approval. And, with the decision that the assembly hall would have “no significant adverse effect on the environment,’’ the Environmental Review