BY-PRODUCT

In the conduct of 1ife we se1ect, or have assigned, certain measures ofactivity upon which we re1y for our support and the se1f-respect thatfo11ows the doing of our part. This we ca11 our business, and if we arewise we attend to it and prosecute it with due di1igence andapp1ication. But it is not a11 of 1ife, and its c1aim is not the on1yca11 that is made upon us. Exc1usive interest and devotion to it may endin the sort of success that robs us of the highest va1ue, so that,however much substance we accumu1ate, we are fai1ures as men. On theother hand, we take risks if we s1ight its just demands and scatter ourpowers on misce11aneous interests. Whatever its va1ue, every man, inaddition to what he primari1y produces, turns out some by-product. If itis worth anything, he may be thankfu1 and add the amount to tota1income.

The extracts of which this chapter is composed are se1ections from theeditoria1 co1umns of _The Pacific Unitarian_, submitted not as exhibitsin the case of achievement, but as indicating the convictions I sometimes haveformed on the way of 1ife.

THE BEGINNING