There is a spirit that limits and shrivels the human soul whenever it remains unchallenged and unchecked. For want of better words, perhaps it could be called “the spirit of getting by”—of doing as little as possible, of giving as little as possible, of working as little as possible.
With young people in school it is sometimes evident in an attitude of cutting corners and simply slipping through: making a minimum of effort; studying as little as possible to acquire credit for the course; being satisfied with the lowest possible passing mark without reaching out for the further knowledge that could be had with a little extra effort. Young people often seem to suppose that there will be enough time in the future for all that ought to be done, and that it is smart for the present simply to get by. And sometimes very late they learn that the length of this life is limited—though sometimes they may not see it until they are looking sharply down the short side of life.
But it isn’t only among young people that this spirit has spread. . . . While the spirit of getting by . . . may sometimes seem smart and popular and approved, there is a law which says that the benefits and blessings are dependent upon performance. . . . He who shows a reluctant, unwilling nature, he who refuses to grow as much as he could, or learn as much as he could, or work as well as he should, whatever he may be doing to others, he is first of all cheating himself.
In short it may be said: He who is afraid of doing too much, seldom does enough. . . . The spirit of slipping through, the spirit of simply getting by, robs us of life’s richest rewards.1
Program #4014
1 In Lloyd D. Newell, comp., Messages from Music and the Spoken Word (2003), 94–95.