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, 1927
I assembled the following glossary for you,
with love,
Forrest
Desiderata
~ refers to a list of things that are needed as well as desired;
the way it’s used here, it indicates longing for one’s loved ones to have these needed and desirable things.
It comes from a Latin word that meant desire.
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
placidly: from placid which means calm or peaceful; undisturbed.
It comes from a Latin word that meant gentle, pleasing.
noise …comes from the Latin word nausea which then meant seasickness.
haste: hurried doingness. But where hurry suggests commotion and agitation, haste implies speed due to urgency.
It comes from old German and it meant the same thing back then, too.
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
peace: means more than just freedom from war or hostilities or agitation. It implies deep mental/emotional/spiritual calmness and contentment.
It’s meant the same since its Latin roots.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
surrender: in this usage means to yield your emotion to another’s wishes and/or to give in to another’s influence rather than to take your own course of action or emotion. It means in this usage to no longer think for your self;
or, possibly even to no longer actually be your own self.
It comes from an Old French word that meant to hand over something or to yield yourself; and that Old French word came from a concept that was originally born from an old Latin word that meant to take from someone (as if to take from someone their things, their beingness, their life.)
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.
vexations: from vex which means to make someone impatient or angry; to trouble and/or torment someone.
It comes from a Latin word that meant to shake, annoy.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter;
vain …comes from Old French when it meant useless and ineffective.
bitter: distasteful, angry, resentful
It comes from an Old English word that meant not sweet.
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.
virtue: the quality of goodness or moral excellence; any good quality or admirable trait of character. The word implies that one has to do something to acquire goodness and that one has to practice the qualities of goodness in order to have goodness. (Even if man is basically good, he still must do good in order to have goodness.)
It comes from a Latin word that meant excellence.
ideals: an honorable or worthy aim or standard of good behavior
It comes from a Latin word that meant model, idea.
heroism from hero, which comes from a Latin word that meant a man descended from a god.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
feign: to pretend; to simulate; to invent; to fabricate. It suggests intent to deceive someone whether intending to harm them or not.
It comes from an Old French word that meant to simulate feelings and hide one’s real feelings.
Neither be cynical about love;
cynical: not believing that people can actually be good or sincere or selfless.
It comes from a Greek word that meant doglike.
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
aridity: dryness to the point of lifelessness.
It comes from Latin when it meant the same thing.
(As it’s used here, it implies being so thirsty for love that one feels lifeless.
disenchantment: un-enchantment.
Enchantment means being charmed or greatly delighted.
Enchant comes from a Latin word that meant to chant or sing words in a magic way that would turn someone on.
Disenchantment is used here to mean being “turned off.”
perennial: lasting or continuing or living through the years; enduring.
Like a plant that comes to life again in the spring.
It comes from a Latin word that meant the same thing.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
counsel: …in this usage means wise judgment
-implying here that father time is wise; so, as you age, accept it.
It comes from a Latin word that meant well thought through, learned advice.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
nurture: to feed; to nourish; to help bring up
It comes from a Latin word that meant the same thing.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
discipline: used here to mean learning and using self control toward moral and mental improvement.
It comes from a Latin word that meant instruction and knowledge and that word came from an older Latin word that meant pupil, to learn.
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.
aspirations: ambitions; what you’re going for. But it implies reaching beyond what is usual rather than simply a desire to get ahead.
It comes from a Latin word that meant to breathe upon; to desire to obtain (as in to obtain a better life.)
peace: means more than just freedom from war or hostilities or agitation. It implies deep mental/emotional/spiritual calmness and contentment.
It’s meant the same since its Latin roots.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world.
sham: deceitful imitation, fake, counterfeit
It most likely comes from the word shame.
drudgery: dull, unpleasant labor
It comes from an older English word that meant the same thing.
Be cheerful.
cheerful: here is used to indicate obvious and outgoing good spirits, to promote cheer. In other words, don’t just be cheerful; do it. Cause it. Spread it. Share it. Create it. Start it.
It comes from an Old French word that meant face. And that word came from an Ancient Greek word that meant head -as in be the head of it.
Strive to be happy.
“Life is not about the pursuit of happiness; it’s about the happiness of pursuit.”
That quote about happiness comes from the film Boyhood.
In case you haven’t seen it, the movie is about a boy who grows up on screen, from age six to 18. It really does actually film this boy and the other characters over 12 years. 12 years of filming the same characters of course should make for what might be the best character-development film of all time; but more epically, it may well capture the human comedy/tragedy on film as well as any film ever has. And within that lovely coming-of-age capture, it just may have filmed the meaning of life.
I know; but, yep.
“Life is not about the pursuit of happiness;
it’s about the happiness of pursuit.”
That quote so moved me, to my core, that the morning after I saw the movie, I researched it and found an interview with the main character, Ellar Coltrane, during which he answers a question about what he learned from shooting the movie over 12 years:
“Really I just want to be lost in the creative process more than anything. And that’s kind of what I found over the last twelve years; that that’s really the thing that makes me the happiest: to just be submerged in the process of making art, and kind of not concerned with the outcome. Working over that long, that’s kind of how it became. I think we, in a way, forgot that it was ever going to come out, that it was ever going to be a movie. It was just this experience that we were having. And that’s the beautiful thing.”
That’s it; happiness comes from being rapt in the process of creating. That’s what life is for.
(And while creating, be cheerful. Desiderata outlines how.)
I desire that for you.