Desiderata
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.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.
Taken from: http://hobbes.ncsa.uiuc.edu/desiderata.html
Desiderata is Latin for "Things to be desired." When looking around my room one day, I saw this age-old tablet hung on the wall. It was so prominent against the backdrop of my room, but yet at the same time it was so easily looked over and ignored. Ironically, I did not notice the "things to be desired."
When I read through this on the tablet in my room, I kept looking at the last two lines: "Be cheerful. Strive to be happy." In our current society filled with stress, tension, anger, outburst, depression,
sadness, fatigue and so many other negative emotions, was it truly possible to be happy? Everyone works and slogs hard, trying to achieve their aims, their goals in life. But just what are they? To earn enough money so as to provide and care properly for the two children? Then live the life of retirement in luxury? Then die, with an elaborate and grand funeral ceremony in an expensive coffin meant to be reduced to ashes or rotten away by nature, leaving behind your family who fights for your possessions which you slogged so hard for in the first place?
Then I realised that what was truly important was our own feelings, our inner peace. The world out there can be chaotic and troubling, but if we can truly be at peace with ourselves, then nothing can really be a problem. The term "happy" is left in a vague sense precisely because it is up to us to decide how we want to be happy. It all boils down to personal interpretation.
If you think the world sucks and everything is so unfair to you, it is so.
If you think that despite all the stress, all the sadness, all the misery, the world is still a beautiful place, it is so.
Therefore what matters most is to know yourself.
Keep positive - because everything will then seem to be more beautiful. With a positive attitude in life, we are then able to view the world in its full splendour - all its positive and negative points, except that now the negative points do not seem so negative as before.
Strive to be happy - strive for our goals in life, strive for what we ourselves define to be happy. If we feel that being happy is having a well-bonded family which supports each other through thick and thin, so be it. Work towards the goal, and strive to achieve that dream.
There are two sides to a coin - as with the positive, the negative will be there. But in the midst of all the negative threatening to corrode our inner peace, we must still recall the fact that the positive still exists, and take pleasure that it is still within our grasp.
Comparison is okay - to the point of self-improvement, comparison is good, but to the point of fanaticism, comparison suddenly turns negative, because there will always be better or worse persons than yourself.
This poem is inspiring, and surprisingly logical. When "happiness" was left to be openly defined, the whole poem gets put into place. Anything is possible as long as we strive for our happiness, because when we feel happy, everything we had to go through will be worth it.
When I looked at the part about the loud and aggressive persons, on hindsight it does sound like me, and therefore I am a vexation to the spirit. This got me thinking, and I feel that there has to be some people like me to be around, or else the world would seem gloomier. When I suan a person, the surrounding people laugh which brings joy to more people at the expense of a single person. And once again, I can only be a vexation to the spirit if I am interpreted to be one; it is the personal viewpoint which matters. In other words, be positive! When I suan you, think of the positive side of things! You are the centre of attention, and the people are laughing because of you. Without you, the people would not be able to experience that moment of fun and joy, if not for a second. Therefore, be at peace with yourself, think more positive thoughts, and let me suan you more, for it brings pleasure to myself and others. LOL.
ivan fed the world.