Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1914-06-10
ly for your life, for it is different
from mine and every body else's.

Insofar as two or more of US agre,
in our answer to the great ques
tions we can agree in q united
statement in regard to the mean
ing of this great thing, life.
Though we all possess part Of
this great thing, yet your par
and my part go differ you and
grow into something's as different
and distinct as the oak tree and
the blade of grass. Each life
brings out what Is in it, adding
such of the things that come to il
as it Is able to absorb and assimi-
late. Whence the tremendous
diversity of beings in human life,
comparable in a way to the diver.
sitv in vegetable life.
Each of Us has an inheritance
of lite, according to the nature
and condition of his parents. To
that he adds according to the
richness of the life within and the
quality of materials from without.
Every soul is its own architect,
alike free to accept or reject plans
offered, building high if endowed
with energy, building strong if
endowed with skill, and building
enduringly it possessed of the wis.
dom to follow the laws of being.
Such being the case. the desir-
able condition for the growth aid
enlargement of life 10 suob a con.
dition as will be helpful and en-
cnuraging, and not calculated to
interfere with the unfolding of the
life which is. Ia other words, I
can't successfully live according
to your plans unless they apply to
my needs; and no one is IN posi-
tion to judge in regard to that as
wisely as myself. I may make
mistakes by following my own
Judgment, but they are my mis-.
takes only when evolve or adopt
them with my cwn free will. And
can correct my own mistakes,
which originate in my own plans
better than I can mistakes that
originate in the specifications of
others.
These lives of ours unfold and
reach normal high development
better under conditions of free
dom than of restraint. The med.
dler spoils life as readily as an
extra cook spoi.s the pudding. 1t
is the human error of trying to tit
all these radically different lives
into a uniform product that spoiIs
the whole process by bewildering
individuals I'd confusion. I do
we'll if l make something out of
myself, and l am sure to spoil the
material If I try with any success
to make you into something like
myself. Az life builders we are
competent only to work with our
selves. And each of US has plenty
to keep him busy without striving
to limit the freedom Of others or
insisting on their giving up their
private judgment for my edicts
and Judgments. To be sure the
one may ACCEPT and work out the
ideas of another if he does it in
freedom and understanding; but
to impose creeds and degmas on
people who feel no need of them,
do not understand them, and can
not use them, is to stop life and
start death.
Freedom of thought is the very
condition of growth, of living
To suppress ones own judgment
at the behest or under the com
pulsion of another is suicide. Te
submit to tho dictation of another
10 self destruction and mutllatior
of the life that must grow in its
own way or not at all.
There is but one school oil
thought yet active in the worle
that inaists on whiting down al
living men to fit his own peculiar
purpose. 1t comes to US with s
mystical story of plans and speci
fications entrusted to it from OF
high; plans by which each o
thsse millions of divers lives ar
to be fitted uniformly into on
thing. All these square human
pegs must 60 into round holes NJ
matter how much hsmmering an,
trimming it takes. Aud some o
us are 80 dead as to consent to it
some of rs having inherited 9
little of the real life, or have don
80 little with what we had, tina
we turn the job over to the othe
fellow, and right there We oeas
living and merely prolong exist
! ences
If there Is nothing in man b
J is. of course, only fit for potter
. clay TO be fashioned by anyon
\ who may fancy the effort; but
he is only an average, he "a
3 make more of himself, unrestrict
! ed, than any machine can pre-
duoe, no matter how skillful il
inventors AID operators. Think
. ing is part of life. Free thinkin
3 makes for free life. Ceasing {
: think is ceasing to live. To lot
i. control and direction of one
Q thoughts is to lose the greater
/: thing in the world.
/ THE sT-RY OF LOUIS R. PATMoNT,