Friction by E. R. Allen

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Dec 17, 1912

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 49.

Friction

By E. R. Allen

To get the most out of life's working time, we must learn to avoid friction. By this I do not mean ill feeling between individuals, but the things which get in our way. To accomplish the most in a given time, we must have a clear road. A small stone on the track may cause as serious a wreck as if it were a boulder. It is the little things that are too small to bother to move, that hinder us the most in our daily work.

It is significant that most of the things which hinder us, and cause friction in our daily tasks, could be easily removed. I once read of a man who plowed around a stone in his field for many years. One day he thought to see how large it really was, and found that he could lift it onto his wagon. I am reminded of a housekeeper who would seldom move the chairs from the middle of the dining-room floor, until the work of the day was done, and she "straightened up." This room also served as kitchen, and this good woman walked around and stumbled over those chairs in her countless trips to and from the stove, pantry, etc. In this way there was needless wear and tear of the vital machinery, that might have been spent to better advantage.

It is the same in every walk of life. I have seen carpenter shops where the sawhorses, lumber, half finished work, etc., stood in the way to be walked over and around all day long. I once worked in a printing-office where the machinery and furniture were so crowded together that an immense amount of strength and nervous energy was consumed in accomplishing the day's work. If two workers in this room started to cross the floor at the same time, one had to wedge in between machinery or furniture, while the other passed. One visitor remarked of this particular place that "it was so small one had to go out-of-doors to change his mind."

Many people are traveling through life with sand in the bearings. A little forethought will remove most of these hindrances, and leave us free to make the trip in ease and comfort. We have all noticed that some persons will accomplish much more in a day than will others. This is not a matter entirely of health or physical or mental strength. It is more often the difference in preparation for work, and the keeping of all hindrances out of the way. A

few moments spent in planning the day's work, and in putting things in their places and out of the way, is time well used. One can almost rest while at work if everything is in its place and things run smoothly.

There are other than material objects which are allowed to hinder our advancement in the things of this life, and also in spiritual growth. It is folly to allow some little things to shut us away from the highest successes of which our lives are capable. Let us clear the King's highway, as well as our own.

Port Hope, Ontario.