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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 ignorant; they too have their stories. Avoid loud and agressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compair yourself to 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 council of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to sheild you in sudden misfortune. Beyond a wholesome disapline, 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 WHEATHER 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.
author unknown
circa 1600AD
I believe in Karma....what you give is what you get returned........
Affirmation........Savage Garden
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cossie
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On fire! |
Location: Exiled in North East Engl...
Registered: July 2003
Messages: 1699
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... and new to me. Where did you find them?
For a' that an' a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That man tae man, the worrld o'er
Shall brithers be, for a' that.
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Cossie, I have this framed and hunmg over my desk in my bedroom. I have always loved it cause I think its true even now altho it was written several hundred years ago. It was found written on a monistery wall. Glad you liked it.
Brian
I believe in Karma....what you give is what you get returned........
Affirmation........Savage Garden
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WOW, I just retyped it so I could print it out and frame it.
It's very insperational (sp).
Brian
To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.
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Brian1407a wrote:
author unknown, circa 1600AD
I HATE to do this. I really do. But please look here:
http://www.businessballs.com/desideratapoem.htm
It doesn't detract from the poem itself.
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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Well I be durned, anit that something!
I believe in Karma....what you give is what you get returned........
Affirmation........Savage Garden
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Funnily enough, I think knowing where something comes from -- even if it isn't as old or as unique as you thought it was -- enhances it. It means that it loses a certain mysticism, certainly, but instead you can devote your energies to appreciating it as a piece of art on its own without projecting onto it certain values simply because it is "old".
When I read the poem the first time there was something nagging at the back of my mind that said, "this doesn't sound like it was written in 1600, or even the seventeenth century". If it were, it would have been written at the same time as Shakespeare's plays. While it uses a few relatively archaic words, the construction is modern. I wondered if it was a modern translation of another language. Now that I know it was written in the 20th century, it makes sense, and I can stop worrying about it.
As I've said before, for a similar reason, I don't like films that are "based on a true story" (whether they are or they aren't). I like films that stand alone as pieces of work in their own right. Once you bring in questions of whether the action is authentic to what happened in the "real world" I start losing my suspension of belief. I like feeling that anything could be about to happen, not just what "could" or "did" happen.
Thank you for posting it, Brian. I enjoyed reading it.
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