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Show Living by Spurts rjPHERE are people who do their j work in the world evenly, steadily, quietly. They get up in !: the morning knowing that the I' day has its appointed task, which ' must be done. They dispose of ; the task with serene exactitude. ! The next day brings another, ' and the next another; each is per- ' formed in the same spirit. There 1 is competence, accuracy, but no excitement, no enthusiasm, and ( likewise there is no discouragement discourage-ment or despondency. Such persons take work and play, as they take sleeping and eating, as part of the routine of life. Other people live and move by spurts. Everything with them is a matter of zeal and passion. There are days when their daily labor takes on a glory. They see rich possibilities in it of achievement achieve-ment and distinction. They throw themselves into it entirely; they see new openings for effort, and take advantage of them, build large and splendid edifices of hope and confidence and call upon every resource of their spirits to realize them. Then come days of reaction. Perhaps there is a physical element ele-ment to consider. At any rate, the spurt collapses. If there is character char-acter behind it, the man goes on working somehow, gets his daily task done; but there is no passion in it, and very little hope. Such lives are made up of alternations alterna-tions of enthusiasm and despair. |