Don Oddy - DonInLondon
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--Max Ehrmann
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.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
-/-
Providence
Acceptance is:
"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation --
some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the
way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in our world by mistake. Until I could accept my humanity, I could not be complete in living; unless I accept
life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs
to be changed in me and in my attitudes."
adapted by DonInLondon
Acceptance is a daily task as we live life to our full extent. And the practice of acceptance has many elements we learn as we progress our
emotional and spiritual development. Two forms of practical steps to acceptance help us in our daily living.
1. Accepting day to day experiences as they occur, as life offers them to us. When we accept our day, how we feel, why and what we can do
about it, we see our part in our daily experiences with others. Acceptance is not blind to our personal choices, merely making sure we respond
and not react to what we encounter. Ask how am I feeling, why and what can I do?
2. Accepting long term experiences which affect our daily living is part of daily life. Our past will bring up issues for us, sometimes daily,
sometimes less frequently. How we feel about ourselves generally, why and what we can do to let ourselves be free, overcome old denials and just
live for this day, this takes time and often support and help from sources we trust.
When I ask myself:
How am I feeling
Why
What can I do
I am asserting my "being here and now", and helps to acceptance of my real situation.
