Desperacy And Desiderata

Once upon a time, I was down and blue. It was taking months and I felt there was no way out. I couldn’t speak. The pressure of wanting to exhausted me. I decided to stay at a yogi’s home in the country. He had said noone in his household would expect me to say a word. Indeed, his children accepted me, the silent guest at their table. But at night, I couldn’t stop throwing up. One night, I called my mother crying. She arrived by sunrise and gave me this poem:

Desiderata

by Max Ehrmann

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.