Today's Thought

The Rev. Paul Sutekichi Osumi wrote a short, inspirational column six days a week in The Honolulu Advertiser from 1957 to 1993 named Today’s Thought.

These 2- to 3-inch missives meant a lot to his thousands of readers. Many taped them on their desks, walls, refrigerators, mirrors, carried them in wallets or mailed them all over the world. Some called Osumi ’’Hawaii’s best-read author,” and others said the minister “had the biggest congregation in Hawaii.”

His short pieces also appeared in the Hawaii Hochi and the Fairbanks Daily News. Thousands wrote him letters of appreciation.

In the beginning, several ministers from different faiths were asked to contribute to Today’s Thought, Osumi recalled. “I outlasted them all because I didn’t write about my own theology. I wrote about real life.”

By 1959, only Osumi was still writing the column, and he continued to 1993. He died in 1996 at age 90. Here are a few of his writings.

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE
1. Remember marriage is a 100-100 proposition. It’s not a 50-50.
2. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.
3. Never meet or part without an affectionate hug or kiss.
4. Each day, say at least one nice thing to each other.
5. Never go to bed angry. Settle all differences before the sun goes down.
6. Do not argue. Always talk things over.
7. Do not nag or engage in fault finding.
8. Never bring up mistakes of the past.
9. When you have made a mistake, say “I am sorry” and ask for forgiveness.
10. Never raise your voice or shout at each other unless the house is on fire.

Learn to Listen
A man in trouble said to his minister, “Thank you very much. You have helped me greatly.” Yet the minister had done nothing except to listen. If we are to do well in this world, we must learn to listen. In times of great stress, words are often futile. Often the only comfort and help we can give our friends in sorrow is to be silent and listen.

Finding Faults
If you seek to find faults in others, you will not be disappointed. You are sure to find them. But if you go out to discover the good in men and women about you, you will find a host of heroes and saints live in your homes and shops and streets. Look for the best instead of the worst.

Resolutions for a Happy Life
No one will get out of this world alive. Therefore …

Thoughts to Live By
Life is what we make of it.
Life is 90 percent attitude: think positively.
You must have something to live for.
Life is a series of ups and downs.
Forget the past and face the future: live each day to the fullest.
Let us always love people, not things.
Your life is measured by what your life meant to others.
Learn to laugh and say kind things.
To be happy, be yourself.
You have only one body; that is irreplaceable.
There is only one race: the human race.

Resolve to maintain a reasonable sense of values
Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s major source of wealth. Without it, happiness is harder to attain and sometimes almost impossible.

Resolve to be cheerful and helpful. People will repay you in kind. Avoid angry, abrasive people. They are generally vengeful. Avoid zealots (fanatics, cranks, loners). They are generally humorless.

Resolve to listen more and talk less. No one ever learns anything by talking. Be chary (cautious) of giving advice. Wise men do not need it and fools will not heed it.

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and wrong. Sometimes in life, you will be all of these.

Do not equate money with success. There are many successful moneymakers who are miserable failures as human beings. What counts most about success is how a person achieves it.