Desiderata

Desiderata

Hi
Firstly, many thanks to all of you who send me feedback on these ramblings of mine. Your reflections inspire me always.

I am still practising as a Life Coach and Counsellor chiefly using WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype and the other technological wonders at our disposal today. Please feel free to get in touch for a complimentary getting-to-know-you chat. If finance is an issue in these difficult times, I am happy to discuss it with you.

For many of us these days the world is not getting easier to live in. One way of keeping ourselves at peace is to take a few minutes each day, or several times a day, to stop, to breathe deeply, and to come back to ourselves – I call it ‘coming home’ – quietly, calmly, trusting that deep down, despite all the logical proofs against it, we are okay.

Some quiet reading can often help us relax into a moment of calm. I remembered recently Max Ehrmann’s well known poem Desiderata first published as part of a book in 1927. In beautiful old words he expresses things which in days of uncertainty, anxiety, and bewilderment might inspire us.
You may already know it but I thought I’d share it with you or remind you of it.

Go placidly amid the noise and the 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 to 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 or 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 labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
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Thomas Hillas Life Coach and Counsellor. Pendine. October 2022