The Woodlands Biotch

for years i saw the opening stanza, and yet had never tracked down the full text by max ehrmann before now. i’m glad i did. it speaks to me… see for yourself:

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 vexations to the spirit.

first, he speaks to my ever increasing desire for quiet, for peace. for years – i hated silence. i needed to hear people, conversations, music, traffic, construction, noise… i think it dulled me. it lulled me. it gave me some feeling of insulation – if there was noise all around me, it would drown out the noise in my head.

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.

ah, now this – this speaks to me at work. always i think to myself, “they’ve earned looking down on me, they are learned and i am not.” i’ve thought to myself, “yes, this has taken so much time and energy to complete, and yet – who cares? now, in a year, in ten?” but that doesn’t matter. i care. it matters to me. i matter to me. i earn respect, because i give respect when it is earned. and if i do not get respect, it is not because i am unworthy, it is because they are.

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.

i had to break this part into three; the first, most ardently speaks to the management at work. it is that silent reel that is in my head. that part of me that wants to say, “if only you had let me help before, we wouldn’t be here now.” but instead, of course, i have stood aside and waited my turn and now am asked, “will you help me?”

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.

this i know all too well. now, that is. i didn’t before. i thought i did. i thought i was being myself. but i had it all wrong. had, being the operative. i have it now. i am myself. i feign nothing. and i am not cynical (about love anyway).

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

the beauty of remembering to respect your elders is that, in time, with experience, you become the elder, and you are respected. so put aside your childish ways and take up the banner of adulthood. but no matter your age, you can always remain young at heart.

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.

and, well, after all – worrying is about as effective as trying to solve an algebra equasion by chewing bubble gum, now, isn’t it?

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. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

and it is. children laughing. flowers blooming. the sun and the moon. leaves on the trees, fresh-cut grass. don’t focus so much on the negative, or you’ll miss the positive altogether.

Strive to be happy.

and remember what your own happy is; because that’s what matters most.