A man moves slowly or swiftly, he does his work weakly or strongly, according to the energy that is in him. But the direction of his life, this way or that way, follows the unseen influence of what he admires and believes most. Available the fifteenth of every month, short inspirational treasures by Gammon Irons. THE QUESTION OF LIFE What is the goal that you desire and hope to reach? What is the end of life towards which you are drifting or steering? There are three ways in which we may look at this question, depending upon the point of view from which we regard human existence. When we think of it as a work, the question is, "What do we desire to accomplish?" When we think of it as a growth, a development, a personal unfolding, the question is, "What do we desire to become?" When we think of it as an experience, a destiny, the question is, "What do we desire to become of us?" There is a difference in these three standpoints from which we may look at our life; and this difference not only makes a little variation in the view that we take of our existence, but also influences unconsciously our manner of thinking and speaking. Most of the misunderstandings that arise when we are talking about life come from a failure to remember this. We are looking at the same thing, but we are looking from opposite corners of the room. We are discussing the same subject, but in different dialects. Some people - perhaps the majority - are of a practical turn of mind. Life seems to them principally an affair of definite labor directed to certain positive results. They are usually thinking about what they are to do in the world, and what they are to get. It is a question of occupation, of accomplishment, of work and wages. Other people - all serious-minded people when they are young, and life still appears fresh and wonderful to them - regard their existence from the standpoint of sentiment, of feeling, of personality. They have their favorite characters in history or fiction, whom they admire and try to imitate. They have their ideals, which they seek and hope to realize. Some vision of triumph over obstacles, and victory over enemies, some model of manhood or womanhood, shines before them. By that standard they test and measure themselves. Towards that end they direct their efforts. The question of life, for them, is a question of attainment, of self-discipline, of self-development. Other people - I say all people at some time or other in their experience - catch a glimpse of life in still wider and more mysterious relations. They see that it is not really, for any one of us, an independent and self-centered and self-controlled affair. They feel that its issues run out far beyond what we can see in this world. They have a deep sense of a future state of being towards which we are all inevitably moving. This movement cannot be a matter of chance. It must be under law, under responsibility, under guidance. It cannot be a matter of indifference to us. It ought to be the object of our most earnest concern, our most careful choice, our most determined endeavor. If there is a port beyond the horizon, we should know where it lies and how to win it; and so the question of life, in these profound moods which come to all of us, presents itself as a question of eternal destiny. Join us next time for Au Large! – 15 April 2018.
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AuthorMusings from Gammon Irons. To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for us all; and surely a good haven to sail. Archives
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