Saturday, November 18, 2006

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

- Max Ehrmann, 1952

***

You've probably seen this piece before. When my gran died many moons ago, she did not have much. But she left me a framed copy of the Desiderata. I was in the midst of my first psychosis at the times. Had already been chronically (and continually) psychotic for 1 month, and would be the same for another 2.

It's one of those pieces you bump into every 5 or 6 years in your life. And every time I do, I find myself thinking, Man, this is spot on for the times we're living in.

And so it was this week.

Timeless.

6 comments:

  1. Whenever I visit your blog I can find something completely unique.

    Hope you are well.

    :* Princess

    PS: I voted on your poll - you're awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful, just beautiful.
    What a great gift from your grandmother. I've never seen it before so thank you BPGuy.

    mt

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  3. A little look on wikipedia I discovered that 'Desiderata' is Latin for 'desired things' and was written in 1927. The line at the bottom says it all, "Strive to be happy". Happiness is not going to come up to you and tap you on the shoulder and say, "Hi, here I am!"

    ReplyDelete
  4. Man, I was looking for an unencyclopedia.org entry on this Desiderata crap, but found none, so here, I gave it a shot. See if you can finish it off and maybe submit it to those guys...

    Go bunkers amid the silence and tranquility
    and remember what peace there may be in screaming.
    As quickly as possible surrender and
    be on bad terms with all persons.
    Speak your lies loudly and clearly;
    and don't listen to others,
    even the interesting and the knowledgeable;
    they too are full of shit.

    Seek loud and aggressive persons,
    they teach your spirit compassion.
    If you do not compare yourself with others,
    you may become vain and bitter all on your own anyway;
    for always there will be greater and lesser imaginary persons than yourself.
    Never enjoy your achievements and mostly MAKE NO PLANS!

    (or you will make God LOL a lot)

    Keep disinterested in your own career, however important,
    it is a bogus possession in the constant shittiness of time.
    Exercise carelessness in your business affairs;
    for the world is full of perfectionists.
    But let this not blind you to the lack of virtue there is,
    many (more) persons strive for lowly ideals
    and everywhere life is full of hedonism.

    Be a fake.
    Especially, feign affection.
    Or at least be cynical about love;
    for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
    you will at least believe there was a reason for all those
    who "loved you so" and left you anyway.

    ... and so it goes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is great! Thank you Bipolar Guy! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've always loved that. Thank you for posting it.

    ReplyDelete

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