The Press., 1922-05-25
LEARN TO LIVE"
Mere Existence Should Never Be
 Ones Sole Aim.
Too Many Tie Themselves to the GrInGstOns and Fail to See Beauty
 and Joy of Life.

The other day a man died. After the funeral 8 party of those who had known him were discussing him-Quite sympathetically. His good points were recalled and emphasized, and it came as a bit of a shock when the criticism was made:
 "Yes, poor old S-wasn't' a bad sort, but he only lived eighteen years"
 Why, he was f1fty-three!" came the .prOtestatiOn.
 "Yes; but he only lived eighteen of them-from the time he was seven and began to get hold of life, until he was twenty-five. After that-well, he simply worked and slept. He didn't live he just existed. There's mighty difference"
 Silence fell on the group. The un- expected criticism had thrown an H. luminating searchlight on one mans life and revealed the truth, remarks a London Answers writer.
 He hadn't '1ived." Life, by his own choice, had been just work and sleep, sleep and work. No, please do not seek to excuse him by saying that possibly his work was his life. In a sense it was, but ii had no right to be. He was in the world as much to live as to work.
 The divine plan never intended that any man should use his life wholly and solely for work. That, most obvious ly. with necessary sleep added, would leave no time for 'living" in the real sense of the word. It would be the turning of the grindstOne, with no eye for the pageant of life and no share in it. That's existence-nOt living"
 Have we not to take from, as well as ly lived" if his record is that he worked and slept and worked and slept and died?
 Of some men 1t Is said that they like their work so much that it is their life. We'll, it shouldn't be. It Is as though one forever lived on bread and water and ignored natures gifts, ere ated for our use and enjoyment, of luscious fruits, fish and fowl.
 Do not we work to live? Why, then, reverse that and live to work? It may be argued that our necessities and our responsibilities compel. They should not. Take the case of the man who died. He worked and worked and never broke off to Tive" because of his responsibilities. Tn the end, and as the result, he died in the prime of Iife-worked out. And he left his responsibilities behind him-unprOvid- ed for! The grindstone of work wore him out.
 If you want to live on, you must live" Foil takes toll. 'IIiving''- the holiday by the sea, the football match, the enjoyable evenin; al the club, cricket, the pictures, little out ings, fishing, golf, all and everything which is pleasurable, make you live"
 And that is what we are here for. The elixir of life Is hidden in the nee tar of pure, recreative pleasure. Get away from the grindstOne and drlnk of it. You want life, and not just existence.
 The old tag, eve ain't got much money, but we do see life!" holds pro found wisdom.
 Do, please, "live"! Work should be but the means to that end. Don't be as a man the writer knows who works, works, works that he may scrape a thousand pounds together for his wife and children when he has gone. Un- selfish? No, merely silly!
 He could bring about the same re- suit by spending twelve pounds year on lite insurance and use the balance of his earnings to "live!"
 Live please! Take something out of life. Allrwerk and no play makes life just an existence. Live!