Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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3 wt- P E : Tllfllltlxf iillliluiir- W Third. Be efficient in what you do. Vllork for complete success in every undertaking. Thus you form the habit of successful achievement. Do not table a task that is foredoomed to failure. Take a pride in your skill. Nothing is worth while doing that is not worth doing well. , Fourth. Never run away from difficulties that should be faced. Aiidfdi the situation with vigorous action. If you have a problem, get busy and do something about it. Learn to face reality courageously. If you do not know how to tackle it, seek the knowledge you need from some more experienced per- son and seek it at once. Avoid worry. Put forth your best effort and then rest your case on the determination that no matter what happens you will make the best of it. Carry your burdens in a sportsmanlike way. None of us are immune from all of life's perplexities. Some of life's conflicts are 11ot capable of solution, circumstances and conditions may exist that are beyond the power of man to alter. Such problems as sickness and death we should face as real sportsmen and be good losers. Fifth. Keep work, play, rest and exercise in their proper relative positions. Keep them well separated. Wt.ll'li when you work, play when you play, and do nothing when you rest, and make each of these a part of your daily routine. Stifffl. Settle your moral accounts every night. Never hold a grudge: never let the sun go down upon your wrath. Look upon each new morning as a new day in which to improve, but do not carry over troubles from yes- t e rda v. Scecnilz. t'ultivate the attitude of dependence on the unalterable laws of nature. Do not expect tl1e1n to be changed to suit your convenience, but strive to place yourself in harmony with them. Attune yourself to the infinite, with a determination that you will play your part to the best of your ability. It may be that your answer to the question of VVhat kind of a self am I building? will be found by contemplation of these suggestions. Vllhen we tackle the other problem VVhat kind of a world am I build- ing? we must examine the ends toward which our present civilization is lead- ing us, make an effort to know the facts, draw conclusions, and openmindedly a11d fearlessly face the future. No intelligent person can be satisfied with the world as it is to-day. The spectacle of long queues of breadlines and the knowledge of the fact that mii- lions of men and women who want work cannot find employment causes us deep concern. ln fancy we can see the wistful faces of hungry children as they appeal to father and mother, who are unable through no fault of their own to satisfy their needs. Yet. there is no famine in the world. The wheat granaries are full. There is plenty for everybody. VVho would have believed a few years ago, that our farmers would some day be poor because they had raised too much grain? That day has arrived. Manufacturers and merchants are growing grey and their faces are haggard as they are forced to lay off old and faithful employees, because the sales force is unable to market the product that fills the warehouse. VW are faced with the dilemma of over production and under consumption. lt is not that our factories have not produced sufficient for all, but rather, there is too much. lt seems to be a matter of exchange. One very prominent manufacturer of chewing gum has arranged to exchange his wares with the western farmer for his wheat, but the millions of people who have no wheat 28

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. - f-.- .fe 1 A f' L . k -r ' ' selves. He sets forth that he wanted to be a priest and a pirate, a rah-rah boy and a professor, a philosopher and a lady-killer, but in time he realized that the philosopher and the lady-killer could not dwell together in the same house of clay. Since all desires cannot. be selected for gratification, those of most worth to the person should be chosen, if it can be determined what the most worthy are. A guiding principle seems to be to leave open the most ave- nues for future satisfaction. If one had only youth to live, if the span of life were only twenty-iive in- stead of seventy years, certain choices might be made which must be rejected ii middle and old age are also to receive consideration in the scheme. It is neces- sary, therefore, to establish a hierarchy of desires in which there shall be a chief 'aim in life, with other aims conforming to it. Since our future happiness depends 11ot only on the kind of a person we make of ourselves but also on the kind of an environment we have to live in, one of the chief concerns of youth should be to assist in the creation of the most congenial and helpful environment possible. For the very young child this is limited to his home surroundings, but soon it extends to his playmates and to his school and takes in the whole neighborhood. As he grows older he realizes that it is affected by the sort of a community that others have created. by the nation to which he owes allegiance, and in later years to a very marked extent by the people of other nations. In these days when we have a war it is a world war: every nation is atfected. If we have a financial depression it is world-wideg nobody escapes. To-day it is possible for a man to speak in Germany or South America and his voice is heard all over the world. No longer can we feel that we belong only to our own nation or our own empire. We are citizens of the world in a very real sense, and as citizens we are the makers of the conditions which exist through- out the world. Every thoughtful boy in planning his life must. therefore. ask himself these two questions:-VVhat kind of a self am l building, and what kind of a world am 1 building? The answer to the first question may be found by a survey of the kind of habits we are building. Hur characters are the sum total of our habits. llabits are the tools by which we achieve health, happiness. and efficiency. The person who is without friends, unhappy, poorly adjusted in his home, school, or busi- ness, who is dragging along. lnitrustworthy and inefficient, is handicapped by habits which are inadequate to meet his daily needs. A good deal of the laziness charged against boys is due to the chronic habit of day dreaming. llishonesty is a habit. An honest person is honest because of a habit of thought. It never occurs to him to be dishonest. lle is not constantly weighing the advantages and disadvantages of right conduct. All his energies are released and directed toward the one goal. Let me make a few practical suggestions that may help you in building up the sort of habits that should help you realize your best self. Firsf. Make clean. practical decisions, subject to change and modification in the light of additional information. Sccoml. Do one thing at a time. l'oncentrate attention on the one thing on hand. Only thus can you form the habit of concentration. Short periods, complete attention, no dawdling, should be the rule. 21'

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nor anything else, save the labour of their hands and minds to exchange must not only go without their chewing gum but with very little of that which is more substantial to chew upon. They must throw themselves upon the mercy of those who have an accumulation, and beg for relief. Many have sold their labour for years to others who have greatly profited by it and have been able to lay aside an abundance. For some reason many of the workers have not got back in personal and social income the equivalent of what they have produced. It seems to be a matter of unequal distribution of the profits of what labour has produced. One half has plenty and to spare: the other half has nothing but the willingness to work. For two thousand years men and women have uttered that prayer. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Hive us this day our daily bread, but as yet we have failed to see it realized. Man is the great- est factor in helping to create world conditions. His conscious thinking is the unique factor 'in the stream of developing events. The Supreme Being appar- ently works through man and waits upon him for progress and fulfilment of prayer. l'sually He seems to select certain individuals who have fulfilled the required conditions,-an Edison to brighten the world, a Burbank and a Saun- ders to help feed it, an tlsler and a Ranting to relieve the pain and suffering. One wonders who are being fitted today for the great task of solving the prob- lems of the more equal distribution of wealth and happiness and the ushering in of the Kingdom of Heaven upon lflarth. The great masses of the people are unequal to the task of creating a new World. As children they were not encouraged to think. They were taught to take orders and to obey. We have consequently tended to produce people who are essentially indifferent and unthinking defenders of an outworn past. The hope for the future lies in men and women who have been taught to be good choosers rather than good obeyers. Too long have our institutions of learning lauded the status quo. They have not tended to produce reformers of world conditions. Initiative and creative thinking has not been encouraged. lf we are duly concerned about the kind of a world we are building we must face the future courageously and with self-confidence, and be prepared to differ witn those who are satisfied with a system that has produced present conditions. Vile are all naturally opposed to a violent social revolution such as is bc- ing experienced in Russia, but we are looking forward to a new and a better world. Is it too much to hope that the youth of today may substitute as a motive for conduct that of public service for the old incentive of private gain? VW- see this spirit of unselfishness demonstrated every day on the playing field or hockey cushion. Boys and girls are giving the best they have for the sake of the team. VVe see the same self-sacrificing devotion on the part of teachers and professors in our schools and colleges. They do not need the incentive of private gain in order to be stimulated to their best endeavour. For years the leaders of our religious life have been giving themselves in what appeared to be sacrificial service but they have in reality found the more abundant life of peace and happiness. lflngincers and scientists, as well as the rank and file of workers in our government and public owned services have labourcd inces- sently for the welfare of their particular department without any thought of private profit. Employees have not even shirked their tasks in private enter- prise while their employers were enjoying the privilege of absentee ownership and basking in the sunshine of the southern seas. There is no evidence that 29