:: Go Quietly ::

It's strange how things come into your life, and then you blink and forget about them as they go 'round and 'round in little whirlpools of time, bobbing up again and reminding you they exist...

I first encountered Max Ehrmann's prose poem Desiderata (Latin: Desired Things) on the front of a greeting card while I was on a mission for my church in California. The card only quoted the first sentence: "Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence." At that time in my life, it was a reminder that while the negative powers of the universe may try to grind away at you with its clamor and "get it done yesterday" attitude, the eye of peace at the center of that storm is simply being quiet and purposeful.

I tucked the card away in my things when I moved back to Kansas and quickly forgot about it. Some time later when I moved into my own apartment the greeting card bobbed up out of the whirlpool and asked me to remember what I felt those years ago. By then I had a degree in Graphic Design, and I was looking for a job in my field, among other things, and I found that the one sentence still had meaning for me. As I thought about them, the words said they wanted to become something new, so I looked up the full poem and designed a little something to hang on my wall.

Another year or two went by. I still didn't have a job in my field; at least, not one that got me a steady paycheck. But other things happened in my life to make it fulfilling; I got married, my wife and I bought a house, I got a job with the school district that paid the bills ~ and on top of that I still took freelance design gigs where I could. But by then things were too crowded. I never quite had enough time for everything. The storm was starting to overwhelm me.

Then, as my wife and I were digging through boxes, I found the Desiderata again. Both the card and the framed picture reminded me of that time back in the day when I knew that the answer to clamor and haste was stillness and silence. So I trimmed my life like the groundskeeper does the overgrown bush and stood back to observe the beauty of it as it was, not as I wanted it to be.

For, as Ehrmann says, "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."

The framed picture now hangs in our living room, silently reminding me that within quiet purposefulness, there is peace.

Max Ehrmann's full Desiderata (after the jump):

Desiderata
by Max Ehrmann, 1927
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 vexatious 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.