Article April 10, 1948 Issue

CHERISH TRUE INDIVIDUALITY

NEIL H. BOWLES

Now and then we hear someone express the desire to be like one of his fellow beings. This wish, while it may spring from admiration of the good the other expresses, really manifests a sense of limitation and possible of covetousness.

It is commendable, of course, to appreciate the excellent qualities expressed by others, such as humility, honesty, unselfishness, magnanimity, forbearance, and suchlike, which characterize truly great men and women. But to wish to possess or duplicate the capabilities of others is to misunderstand the source and origin of all individuality and capability—God, Soul, illimitable good, of whom man is the perfect image and likeness. When one thinks he desires to take on the characteristics of another human being, it is always because of a misconception of man's true nature as the reflection of God.

One day a young man, a student of Christian Science, came to the writer's business office and asked if he might discuss an employment problem. He had been admitted to the bar, but had never practiced law, and although he had held several positions, he had not been happy in any of them. This day he announced that he would like to become a sales engineer. He knew nothing about such work, but a friend whom he admired held a similar position and seemed greatly respected and highly prosperous.

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