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Here is the text of “Desiderata,” the timeless classic (found in Old St. Paul’s Church in Baltimore, which was founded in 1692, and thought to have been written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann) that hung in the laundry room of my childhood house, and sort of got imprinted on my soul. Back when I had a few more brain cells, I think I had it memorized. Now all I remember is “don’t compare yourself to others, avoid loud people (especially if you are one of them), and try to get along with everyone,” and those three instructions are enough to keep me busy.
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Desiderata
Go placidy 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 ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and agressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for 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 transcends time and space.
Take kindly to 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 and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome disipline, 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 careful. Take care.
Strive to be happy.
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Therese Borchard is the author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes and The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit. Subscribe to Beyond Blue, visit her website, or follow her on Twitter @thereseborchard.
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Therese Borchard is the author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes and The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit. Subscribe to Beyond Blue, visit her website, or follow her on Twitter @thereseborchard.
posted May 8, 2007 at 9:52 am
What kind of words can one say after ingesting that? The greatness of it makes one humble in spirit and feel lowly in comparison. I usually have much to say but I’m not sure what to say at this moment: God, I humbly beseech you to give me strength to live by this doctrine. Help me to use all that is here to better myself and anyone else around me. And if it fails to affect others, let me still utilize all the goodness for it shall benefit me in every way. I ask you this today in faith and hope for a future that will bring me peace and love…..amen.
posted May 24, 2008 at 10:28 am
The Desiderata has always been a peace/piece of my heart. I used it as a speech for my high school graduation. I have recited it probably thousands of times, all across the country, sometimes in the worst of circumstances. I believe it kept me alive a time or two. I know it has touched so many. I so needed it again today,(it has been a while) as I suddenly have admitted (first time)to severe depression just this past week. I am medicating (legally)and trying to work through it. I need to get back to counseling and start working out. Les Crane is the artist that put the song together. In 1989, a friend researched who did the song,and came up with the album as a Christmas gift for me! How very cool. I can hear it as I write. Thank you for reminded me of a part of myself that I have been searching for.
posted January 2, 2009 at 6:09 pm
This writing is supposed to have all the miss spellings in it?
posted July 18, 2009 at 7:52 pm
I don’t know what name to use to describe this document, is it a ‘proclamation’, a ‘doctrine’, an ‘admonition’? It doesn’t seem like a suggestion, because it’s so specific. I remember when I first read it, I got angry, then outraged. “Go placidly amid the noise and the haste…” well life is full of turmoil, questing our way through it seems to be insistantly impressed on us. An idea of Hitler and others whose lifestyle did not seem to me to require that kind of encouragement and validation. That was about 40 years ago. Now I have a different response. The conditions in every day life now are fear full.
My body, being the equivalent of a ‘ship on the sea of life’, I’ve weathered devastating storms; not very quietly or without my own sense of outrage at life and it’s unfairness. I’ve lived for about 3/4 a century and the only person I’ve met that was living this ‘creed’ (is it a creed?) took it too literally.