Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-09-27
PATTERNS OF LIFE.


- SNlSs0VS " LIFE.
3he Impsetapees Of Selecting Such % Are
ke410 Worthy Of Imitation.
It may b thought that he who en-
ploys patterns in his work, orgin his
life, mat be- . mere copyist, but it is
p0t:so: Every honest worker. in what
ever sphere his labors are cast, has .
pattern by which his labors are more
or lrss guided, and the value and sue
cess of his efforts will be largely de.
pendent upon the character of this pat
tern. and the source from which he has
received it He is not always, perhaps
not often, conscious of this himself.
Every little child, without knowing it,
is doing what he sees others do, and
saying what he heard others say. As
he grows in understanding, and is
taught many things, patterns are con-
stantly presented to him which he is
urged to initiate. The thoughtful edu-
Gator knows how much of the charac-
ter OF the child is thus formed, and
how important it is that the patterns
should be worthy of imitation. So in
all the earlier forms of labor-the
youth in learning a trade. or agri-
culture, or business, must follow in
structions. and take pattern by those
more expert and better informed
than himself. The young artist must
consult his models, the young law
yer must follow his precedents. the
young author must draw from the
thoughts and study the style Of the
masters of literature. Every one must
at first (and, to some extent, to the
last, also) select good patterns and use
them to his advantage if he would make
his work valuable. But there comes q
time in the development of every in
telligents person when these external
patterns should be no longer sufficient
for him. His own mind, working upon
what has been given to it, begins to
assert itself and to suggest other
methods. different plans, perhaps even
higher aims than those which he has
hitherto followed. One important
difference between men consists in the
way in which these suggestions are
treated. One. through Incidence. or
lack of energy, or self-depreciation, or
timidity, or feeble will, lets them slip
away and continues in the easier path
of imitation. Another, without at all
fOrsaking the faithful model which has
served him so we'll. endows it with new
and fresh life from his own thoughts
and energies. His pattern gradually
changes from an image outside him.
self. which he mechanically copies. to
a living and growing idea within him.
which he constantly strives to embOdy
in his work. Henceforth he puts
something of himself into whatever he
does, and combines that which he has
learned from others with what he
has thought out for himself. In this
lies the whole secret of originality.
1t is not, as some deem it, q
native gift. over which we can
have no control. 1t is only the pres
ence of individual energy asserting its
own faculties and putting them forth
in new, fresh, and improved ways. It
creates new and = higher standard
of excellence for which to strive. A
young girl student, who lately wrote
the best thesis in her class, and was
warmly congratulated upon it. replied:
at is far easier I'd please our teachers
than to satisfy ourselves" She had
developed within herself a pattern
which was better worth copying than
those which had been presented to her.
Original thought is not confined to the
mental laborer alone. 1t enters into
and improves all manual work. The
farmer in the field, the porter with his
burden, the mechanic with his tools,
the woman busy with her needle or
homework, can all be original work.
ers-that is, they can not only initiate
what they have been taught. but also
put fresh life into it. by thinking and
by weaving their thoughts into their
work, so as to do it better and more
easily. People who do this rarely have
to seek far or long for employment;
their services are always in demand,
and their advancement is assured
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