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You are here: Home / My Stuff / Desiderata

Desiderata

June 30, 2008 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell 1 Comment

My mother hung a copy of this inspirational poem in our home as I was growing up. I heard it again yesterday and was reminded how much these words resonated with me then – and still do now. I feel this poem, written by Max Ehrmann in 1927, is a good guide for life.

“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 vexations 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 not this 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.”

Filed Under: My Stuff Tagged With: Desiderata, inspirational poem, Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Max Ehrmann

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  1. Kitty Katana says

    April 10, 2009 at 6:19 pm

    I absolutely love this poem. I don’t know if I view it as a poem as much as it is a statement of life. It hung on the wall of my high school english classroom where I discovered it, and have loved it ever since! Who wrote this?

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