Page:The Art of Helping People Out of Trouble (1924).pdf/21

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

As he grows older, he must accustom himself to variations in temperature, to the passage of the seasons, to the peculiarities of his physical environment. He must develop immunity from the swarm of bacterial parasites. Failure in many of these things may mean an end to his existence; yet they are the least perplexing adjustments he must make. For mostly they are automatic. In a sense they are beyond his conscious control. It is rather the adjustments to people and to events that involve the most vivid struggle. It is these which make the greatest demands upon his character and ability, and they throng every minute of every day.

His waking must be determined, not by the sun, but by the demands of his occupation. The time of breakfast and the food upon the table are the result of adjustment to the convenience and tastes of the different members of the household. His clothes must suit the weather and the day's engagements. He must adapt himself to train schedules, traffic regulations, library rules. He must compromise between his income and his needs and desires. Adaptations must be made to the house and to the neighborhood in which he lives, to manners and customs, to the organiza-