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LETTERS People watching is a wonderfully fulfilling sport. With this nice weather we get a chance to see neighbours who have been hibernating all winter. We also get a chance to see people passing by whom we'd love to have as neigh- boufs. if you live in a busy neighbourhood, all the glancing up, down and to the sides can lead to some memorable thoughts, but also to eye strain. Angered by Katimavik editorial Just as the rest of our body moves in slow gear most of the winter. our eyes tend to get lazy. We've spent the past five months keeping our eyes downward, protected from blowing snow and cold winds. Re the editorial "Hunger Strike" April 2, 1986, we would like to voice our disagreement with the editor's opinion of Jacques Hebert and the Katimavik program. There are several exercises that should be done regularly to keep our eyes in shape. To many, this may sound ludicrous. Optometrists will tell you, however, that many eye abnormalities can be corrected with specific repetitive eye movements. Along the same line of thought, optometrists will tell you that many eye abnormalities can be prevent- ed with specific eye movements. We are graduates of Katimavik. We know what it is about. It was not, as the editor claims, "A 'cadillac' program most suited to advantaged students already well on their way in life." The majority of participants in our group were low to middle class people who felt that Katimavik would give them an 1. Hold a newspaper or book about six inches away from your face. Stare at the words keeping them in full focus for at least 20 seconds. Now relax your eyes slightly, making all the words a blurb, out of focus. Bring them back into focus and then out again repeatedly. Try to shorten the focusing time each time, working the muscles of the eyes. feedback - ‘94::1 " ih, ( treq r! , ' K 'rt r. -' _ , u t i"gllltit m “I use the Waterloo Library and nnd it adequate. so it won't affect Elizabeth Johnson Waterloo Fitness Forum Kathy Hammond F itnm Instructor 2. Sitting straight (you might as well work your back as well) push your shoulders back and square with your head erect and looking straight ahead. Moving only your eyes, look up as far as possible moving your eyes to the right, down, to the left and so on, working your eyes in a complete circle in as wide a range as possible. Continue several times in one direction before switching the other way. You may find your eyes will tire easily with this exercise, particularly if you spend most of your time looking straight ahead. 3. Shut your eyes tightly and hold for at least 30 seconds, pressing your eyelids harder with each second. Relax, but keep your eyes closed. Now open them as wide as you can, popping your eyes. You will find that a few simple eye exercises such as the ones above, will keep your eyes from tiring too quickly, essential if you want to people watch for any length of time. These exercises are also helpful to students during exam time. If you find your eyes tiring during reading, put your book down and work your eyes, restoring some zest into them. You will also find that if you contin- ually practice eye exercises, your coor- dination during physical activities will improve. This is especially true of baseball and racquet sports where hand/eye coordination is essential. opportunity to gain experience other- wise not available to them. In many groups, youths who otherwise would have been unemployed or on welfare for the nine months had the chance to make the most of that time and put something back into Canada. Is the money spent on this program then "misplaced ex- travagance" when the cost of support- ing a "welfare state" is so high? Also consider the fact that the unemployed rate among Katimavik graduates is around five per cent compared to the national unemploy- ment rate among youth at about 17 per cent. Katimavik participants often find that employers are impressed with young people who will volunteer their time and work hard for the chance to "A user fee for non-Kitchener residents is appropriate but I think $25 is a bit excessive. Our daughters do research for their school projects there because they have better reference mate- rial than Waterloo. So I guess it will affect me." -.,, _., mu” How would the proposed $25 non-resident user fee at the Kitchener Library affect you? March Falter Waterloo Asked outside the Erh Street LCBO. A young man had such an encounter when going to a hotel to meet a friend for lunch. Passing through the lobby, he did a double-take, for there, standing by the elevator was - himself'. He gawked tor a few seconds and then went on to the restaurant. It is said that, somewhere in the world, each one of us has a double. A bit shaken, he told his friend what had just happened. "How very interest- ing," said his friend, "what did you say to him?" "I didn't say anything", was the reply. "Why man, you may never see him again; why on earth didn't you go over and talk to him?" Sheepishly, our young man replied: "Well, as a matter of tact, I didn't care much tor the look of him! " Although not many of us ever see ourselves "in person", far too many are unhappy with what they see in the mirror, and I'm not referring to physical appearance, but to the fact that they cannot look themselves in the eye. 1 hope that if you ever meet your double, you will both be glad you did. There are times when we all do something of which we disapprove. We despise ourselves for allowing it to happen and don't like ourselves as a consequence, but we usually get over it without losing too much self-esteem. It is when this attitude of self-disap proval becomes chronic that it can have serious consequences. It can degenerate into self-hate and this means trouble, because what we feel on the inside, will show itself on the outside as hostility to others. learn. How many people are there who would endure the isolation of a northern Indian reserve, sleep in unheated shacks, lug their own water, work outside under harsh conditions every day, and try to create nutritional meals with rationing and a $3 per person per day food budget? This is hardly a "dadmac" program. Finally, no one who was involved in Katimavik wanted Jacques Hebert to die for the program. Politicians who are willing to tight for what they believe in are too valuable to lose. And although Senator Hebert did not save Katimavik. he did draw attention to the govern- ment's actions: too often when the government acts in a way that does not Then, as people usually reflect back to “It wouldn't affect me because I use the university library.", A WATERLOO CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY. APRIL tr, 1966 - PAGE , hm Partly Waterloo Geoffrey Fellows us our attitude towards them, the result is that we hate ourselves the more; and so begins a self-initiated, seibdestruc- tive downward spiral, in which we isolate ourselves from more and more people as we go down. The tragedy is that we can, unwit- tingly, bring this upon ourselves by permitting self-hate to govern our thoughts and actions. How can we prevent this from happen- ing? Simply, it is to do this. Vent your hate on what you did and not on yourself for having done it. This way will strengthen your desire to make amends and your determination not to do it again. It is the way of forgiveness, whereas, berating yourself and brooding over your faults has the opposite effect, and to say “I can never forgive myself for what l did" is the most self-destructive intention one can have. While we usually have a low regard for those who are unforgiving of others, we seem to be only too willing to withhold it from ourselves. So, reverse the Golden Rule and do unto yourself as you would have others do unto you. The word forgive means "cease to blame, or feel resentment against", whether it be yourself 'or someone else, and this can happen only when you direct your feelings against the thing that was done, and not toward the one who did it. (Mr. Fellows' is the founder of the Human Resource Development Insti- tute, P.O. Box 642, Cambridge. NIR 5W1) . is heard. We can think of many instances of "misplaced extravagance" in govern- ment spending that benefit only a priveleged few. Katimavik benefitted everyone in this country, not only the participants, but all those who opened their communities and homes in ex- change for the work, ideas and friend- ship that resulted. Perhaps if the editor of "Hunger Strike" had experienced Katimavik first-hand he would appreci- ate the extreme lengths that Senator Hebert went to. His protest was not in vain. reflect the view of its people, no protest “I wouldn't join again unfortun- ately. I'd have to sit in the library to do research or borrow a card from a friend." Sydney Phelan Waterloo Alison Kashner Nina Bossier Waterloo, Ont.