The record-union., 1899-03-12
PRESENT DAY THOUGHTS.
BY G. Grosvenor Dave.

| BY G. Grosvenor Dave.
To Self-Doubters: Much good re-
mains unperformed in this world
whether it gets done in the next, who
can tell?-because of self-doubtings.
Good people, principally good women,
because of lack of confidence, make no
attempt to- utter the message that stirs
within them: for fear forsooth that the
utterance Will be imperfect and their
own delivery of it feeble.
without either preliminary essayings
and later polishings, every sprang full
armed for conquest from the head Of
any one. The effect of waiting until
perfect work can be done by us who
shrink from publicity for fear of i'm
perfection or misjudgment, is that what
we might do we shall still feel disin-
cined to do; for each year will see US
with higher standards of perfection in
our own work and therefore with just
as much reason as ever for refraining
from doing what we might do.
l met few years back a middle-aged
Phi. D. whose soul was swallowed up
with purpose to help his day. For years
he had gone seeking more and more
perfection of outfit-two years there,
four years here, ETC., because he felt
that such and such a place would give
MIN exactly what he needed Of knowl-
| edge. But the further he went the more
the vista of things unattained opened
before him, until, when 1 met him, ne
was very unhappy at the idea of never
belng quite ready to strike out and do
something. His intellect was frying in
the fat of its own richness. and he quite
unaware OF what ailedi him. Misery was
over his countenance and deep-rooted
WITHIN him. What was the proper ad-
| vice? Do something say something.
work somewhere, even if you are not
quite ready. Three weeks ago I met
MIN again. He was working in the
humblest sort of way in onel of the Col
lege settlements that now begin to dot
the great cities of the land. He fairly
beamed with happiness. He was living
cut his age-having a very poor
voice with a popularity to- it that would
amuse the unsympathetic-and bending
his great intellect down. to the needs of
! the poor and oppressed. The wider
scope will come, as sure as the first
wavering flight of the timourous fledg-
llngs leads to- graceful glidings.
| No first fiight-no subsequent grace.
That is the rule for birds, and it NAV
! be true one also for heads and hearts
1t is continued effort that leads to i'm
provement over the quality of the first
effort. But the first effort must be
made, imperfect, crude unsatisfactory
though it may be. The fact that you
/ doubt yourself is no real sign that your
effort fails. Your message may be weak
and your voice and heart SO uuaverine
that the great torrent-like stream of
human life goes rushing by without
paying any heed at all. Yet who are
you to usurp the powers of omniscience
and declare that your work fails? How
Go you know? Some creature weak and
shrinking like you, may have heard
While slowly circling in an eddy of mac
ton; and your words will have forced
that one out into effort also. Who can
measure results from any exertion, no
matter how apparently trif1ing? I love
to think that just as matter never is de-
stroyed in the economy of this great
|
thoughts and acts go on in their in
f1uences and never die. If this is wrong,
one of the chief props of life is gone.
IL this Is right, why do you stand there
idling? Furthermore, as some human
beings have greater powers than others.
but none of them, if they are great
hearted, are content or able to keep their
powers and results away from help
! ing the great sum total of human
achievement, it should be satisfaction
enough for us who are weak, if we have
had a share in thrusting out into effort
some one who needed the encourage
ment of our own feeble beginnings in
order to plume his own wings for glor-
| ious Might've cannot by any POSSIBLE
ity gather to ourselves all the results
of what We do, nor even get credited
with them; but be content, no genuine
work perishes and whether we are hon
ored for doing it is unimportant beside
the more important fact that we could
do it and did do it, instead of shrink
| ing back for fear of imperfection.
| Better a failure than no attempt at
all: better any form of belief than no
belief at all; better humiliation and con-
fusion of face at an intellectual tumble
than no first step; better weakness that
does its best than strength that selfishly
shuts itself away for a more convenient
season. There must rise to the open
/ ear of all of us at times, the moan, the
groan, the Shrek of the world as it de-
| rnnnds from everyone according to his
| ability. That voice must be. needed and
our little best done, or we prove recreant
to the responsibility of living. If we are
to be surrounded with comforts, and
protected by order and peace and JUS
/ tice; if we are to be carefully shielded
from things that are unpleasant and
terrible; let US appreciate that these
things all exist because others just as
| imperfect in their work as we may be
have done their best. made their con-
tribution and passed on. The thought
of this little message, therefore, con-
denses itself down to this that those
who can Ito and do not are selfish, that
| those who want to do and therefore can
do yet do not are blameworthy; that
| those who take the blessings of life and
| make no return to the world that now
is for the generous throwing in of effort
by those who have gone before are
vampires. They draw strength from
those who rest from their labors, and
the world sees no result of that