DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise & haste & 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 & clearly and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too
have their story. Avoid loud & aggressive persons; they are a vexation to the
spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter; for always
there will be greater & 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 &
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 & disenchantment it is 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 imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue & loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe....
no less than the trees & 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 & aspirations in the noisy confusion of life---keep peace
with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be Careful.

Strive to be Happy.

This poem has been one of my favorites since 1978.

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