Desiderata

So... as you can see... I changed the blog title! It comes from the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. I figured I needed a change. I started the blog while living near the beach and although we still see magnificent sunsets outside our window daily, we no longer have the sandcastles!! I had an idea of what I wanted, but couldn't quite find the way to do it. I have been searching and searching, and today, it finally hit me! I have loved this poem since I was in fourth grade. It is one of my Dad's favorites, and when I was about 9 years old he found a bookmark with it and gave it to me. I remember sitting at the dining room with a big dictionary looking up a bunch of words like aridity, and perennial and feign. The dictionary helped define the words, of course, but didn't really help me grasp the meaning of the poem! It carries a little more weight and desires more life knowledge than your average fourth grader has. Still, I kept the bookmark, and read it occasionally throughout the years. When my Dad dropped me off at college for the first time, he bought me a present. It was a poster with the same poem on it. I smiled and thanked him, glad to have the reminder of him and of home and also to have something to hang on the concrete dorm wall. It was a little later in the year, when I was lying on the top bunk bed, staring up at the wall, that I read it for the first time! I could finally grasp what the entire poem meant and what it meant to me. Although, at this point I would also not consider myself overly worldly and mature, I finally got it. And each time I read it, I get something different. As life goes on and circumstances surrounding me change, a new line stands out and a new meaning comes forth! I love things like that. I've read books written by people in the 1600's that amazingly apply today! Or things like our Constitution! We always think what incredible foresight the writers had, of course. But I think it is all God.

I still have the poster by the way. I hung it up in our basement and was reading it as I ran on the treadmill. So that is my long story about the new title. My beautiful world... in short, my world is beautiful, my blessings are many, and I hope to find treasures in the small things of each day. If I can remember this each moment, I will certainly keep eyes on the Lord, for the credit is all to God.

If you've never read the poem, I am pleased to share it with you...

Desiderata
by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the 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 to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or 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 in your soul.

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

p.s. thanks, Dad