Desiderata

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 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 (1872-1945), Desiderata, 1927

My savior is most diligent;
He has me in his book
With all my faults enumerated
And I am certain there.
It's only the Fallen One
Who wants us perfect;
For then we will not need an angel's care.

        Clive Barker, Galilee

Become the person you wish to meet five years from now.

                  Anthony Robbins

The moon has stepped back like
    an artist gazing amazed at a work
That points at him amazed.

From the poem
    Full Moon and Little Frieda
        By Ted Hughes, English Poet

There is a sacredness in tears.
They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.
They are messengers of overwhelming grief ~
And of unspeakable love.

                  Washington Irving