DESIDERATA/1692

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

DESIDERATA/1692

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 story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for there will always 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 imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and oneliness. 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 careful. Strive to be happy.

Found in Old St. Paul's Church, Baltimore: 1692

[ladyskydiver 0]

Nice post, Rosa!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[usedtajump 1]

"DETERIORATA"

Go placidly amid the noise and waste,
And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep.
Rotate your tires.
Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself,
And heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys.
Know what to kiss, and when.
Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do.
Wherever possible, put people on hold.
Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment,
and despite the changing fortunes of time,
There is always a big future in computer maintenance.
Remember The Pueblo.
Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle, and mutilate.
Know yourself. If you need help, call the FBI.
Exercise caution in your daily affairs,
Especially with those persons closest to you -
That lemon on your left, for instance.
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls
Would scarcely get your feet wet.
Fall not in love therefore. It will stick to your face.
Gracefully surrender the things of youth: birds, Clean air, tuna, Taiwan.
And let not the sands of time get in your lunch.
Hire people with hooks.
For a good time, call 606-4311.  Ask for Ken.
Take heart in the deepening gloom
That your dog is finally getting enough cheese.
And reflect that whatever fortune may be your lot,
It could only be worse in Milwaukee.

You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.

Therefore, make peace with your god,
Whatever you perceive him to be - hairy thunderer, or cosmic muffin.

With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal,The world continues to deteriorate.
Give up!



National Lampoon 1976

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[skyminxx 0]

hey Rosa
Thanks for posting this. I have had this hanging on my wall for a number of years and just last week I posted it on my office wall to remind me of its message.
I also have this on my wall:
An Irish Prayer

Take time to work, it is the price of success.

Take time to think, it is the source of power.

Take time to play, it is the secret of perpetual youth.

Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom.

Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness.

Take time to love and be loved, it is the privilege of the gods.

Take time to share, life is too short to be selfish.

Take time to laugh, laughter is the music of the soul

You are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self.-Richard Bach

[AndyMan 7]

That hangs on a poster at my Dad's cottage.

It's always struck me for being apt in many ways.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

Thanks, Skyminxx, Ladyskydiver and Andyman for your posts! I'm glad that you all liked it. I wanted to share DESIDERATA again with a friend of mine, and I thought that others may also benefit from reading it today. It is hanging in my BF's place, and I love to read it slowly to myself every so often when I need to remind myself of what is truly important.
Usedtajump ~ That's funny...

[ManBird 0]

I prefer the short version:

Don't fuck up.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[SpeedRacer 1]

....And remember:

No man is an Island
but some men are peninsulas.

And a man without a purpose is not a man,
and a donut without a hole is a danish...

and when you set out in the world, looking for your purpose in life, remember:
1) The world loves a working man
2) Don't ever trust whitey
3) See a doctor & get rid of it...


(extra credit: name the three movies quoted above)

Speed Racer
--------------------------------------------------

[cocheese 0]

Jump like there's no tomorrow
Throw your money out da plane like confetti
Never date your rigger's wife
Or piss off your packer.
We are from another planet, that's why we love to burn into the atmosphere.

[aprilcat 0]

and when you set out in the world, looking for your purpose in life, remember:
1) The world loves a working man
2) Don't ever trust whitey
3) See a doctor & get rid of it...


(extra credit: name the three movies quoted above)
Speed Racer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's from 'The Jerk'...

Rosa, nice post. This was used as a pop song years ago. I'd love to hear it again, but reading it was great. Thanks~~April

Camelot II, the Electric Boogaloo!

[Guest]

DISINTEGRATA / Stardate 2832.4

Go nastily amid the peace and tranquility, and remember what satisfaction there may be in genocide.

As far as possible, without surrender, move into other people's space.

Lie often, and loudly; and listen to the lies of others, even the slow and incompetent -- examples can be made of them later.

Seek out meek and inoffensive persons; they are annoying, but fun to kill.

Do not bother comparing yourself to others; those greater than you will eventually be eliminated, and those lesser than you are dead already.

Fart in airlocks.

Assassinate your superior as quickly as possible; your own career, however exalted, is not worth a plugged millo if one of your junior officers gets it over your dead body.

Exercise caution if one of your course changes suddenly produces a sensor ghost; for the Galaxy is full of Federation vessels.

But let this not blind you to the happier side of things; many Starship captains are swaggering, tin-plated dictators with delusions of godhood, and everywhere life is full of incompetence.

Advance yourself.

Especially do not feign meanness, neither be cynical about hate; you are not likely to run out of either.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the joys of defenestration and evisceration for more mature pleasures.

Nurture a deep-seated suspicion of small furry creatures that purr; you never can tell.

File your teeth regularly.

Discipline is important; practice holding it in between planet falls.

You are a scourge of the universe, no less than your average interstellar plague or black hole; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is going to pieces in a most laudable manner.

Therefore do your utmost to annoy the Destroyer, however you may conceive of Him, Big Bang or Entropy Death; and whatever your plans of conquest, as you wade through the morasses of peace with fire and sword, annoy your soul.

With all its truth, high resolve, and courage, the world still has its ugly spots.

Be thoughtless.

Strive to be miserable.

Found scratched on the Energy Barrier - Stardate 2832.4



mh

.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Lainey 0]

The Desiderata is my favourite verse, my dad taught it to me when I was quite young. He got it printed out on massive card, framed and hung it on my wall. He quoted it just this week actually hehe. It just sums up life so wonderfully and makes us think about what is important. Thanks for the reminder VanillaSkyGirl, you've brightened my day.

edited for spelling
.

And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free - Death Cab For Cutie

[LoudDan 0]

What's wrong with loud people????

Coming soon to a bowl of Wheaties near you!!

[Evelyn 0]

Great post Rosa.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing ~ Helen Keller

[Michele 1]

Quote

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 careful. Strive to be happy.

This is my favorite stanza in that whole thing...

Being at peace with God is sometimes hard for me, and to remember that it really is a beautiful world can be impossible at times. This is what I needed today, Rosa. Thanks very much for posting it...and for reminding me it's a beautiful world, no matter the dark shadows, no matter the violence of traitorous and treacherous hearts.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[Shotgun 1]

Thanks for posting that, Rosa. I used to have that hanging on my wall, but the frame got broken and I haven't replaced it. (Now that you've reminded me, I think I will!) It is some of the best advice I have ever heard.

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[fruers 0]

Seeking truths should be in there somewhere too, this thing wasn't found in a church ~300 years ago. When it was brought to my attention it was in that context and it devastated the guy when i told him. Not saying it isn't a good piece, just that the history is not so glamorous ;).

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Desiderata

[flyhi 24]

Quote

And a man without a purpose is not a man,
and a donut without a hole is a danish...

Ty Webb in Caddyshack

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[Shotgun 1]

Hmm, I did not know that. Interesting though... Here is some text about it from snopes:

Quote

Almost every copy of Desiderata carries the claim that the original was found in Old Saint Paul's Church in Baltimore in 1692. It's comforting to believe that some truths are universal, that the beauty of the human spirit is unchanging, ever present, and inviolate. A poem rife with applicability in today's world being found in a church so many centuries ago supports those comforting beliefs. That it's an unsigned piece makes it all the more beautiful: one sees these inspirational words as the anonymous writer's gift to the world. His humility kept him from signing it . . . and maybe there's another lesson for us in that.

As pureheartedly meaningful as its words are, Desiderata's history doesn't quite match up with the fable built around it. The poem wasn't penned by one of our nameless ancestors many centuries ago; it was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945). This selfless writer of many centuries ago was actually a lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana. Like most of Ehrmann's writings, Desiderata failed to attract much attention during his lifetime; three years after his death, his widow had it and some of his other works published as The Poems of Max Ehrmann.

Confusion over Desiderata's authorship arose in 1956 when a Maryland pastor used the poem in a collection of mimeographed material for the congregation of Old St. Paul's Church in Baltimore. He'd been fond of essays and poems of an inspirational nature, and it was often his practice to mimeograph writings he liked, form them into booklets, and place them in pews around the church. The Desiderata booklet was printed on letterhead emblazoned "Old St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, A.D. 1692" (the year of the church's founding).

Some member of that congregation must have liked the poem well enough to pass along to a friend. From there it passed through many hands, along the way losing the attribution to Max Ehrmann and gaining -- through a muddling of the letterhead's message -- the claim that the work itself had been discovered in Old St. Paul's church in 1692.

The poem then found a foothold in California, where San Francisco's "flower children" embraced it delightedly as a centuries-old affirmation of their philosophy of love and peace. From there it spread as underground printers, thinking they were dealing with a work in the public domain, started cranking out inexpensive posters.

The piece hit a new level of popularity after a copy was found on Adlai Stevenson's bedside table when he died in 1965. He'd been intending to use the "ancient" poem in his Christmas cards.

The spoken version of Desiderata earned a Grammy award for Les Crane in 1971. Like many others, he'd seen the words on a poster and mistakenly thought them to be in the public domain. That error cost him -- he was later forced to share the royalties with the late Ehrmann's family. (Ehrmann's original 1927 copyright was renewed in 1954 by Bertha Ehrmann, and is now held by Robert L. Bell of Sarasota, Florida.) It seems Crane had failed to heed the poem's exhortation to "exercise caution in your business affairs."

Not that the date really matters... I still love the words... But the story behind it is interesting... And now I am going to look up the other works of Max Ehrmann...

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[Shotgun 1]

Thanks for the information... I just ordered one of Max Ehrmann's books - The Desiderata of Happiness : A Collection of Philosophical Poems
Although another poetry/short story book that I recently read and really liked is "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories" by Tim Burton... vastly different from Max Ehrmann, but a great book IMHO. (It's a bit weird though, so it probably requires a twisted mind to enjoy it ;-)

[Shotgun 1]

So I just wanted to follow up on this (if anyone is even interested) now that I have read Max Ehrmann's book "The Desiderata of Happiness: A Collection of Philosophical Poems"...

I was a bit disappointed because Desiderata is such a great writing and I didn't think the rest of his work (in this book) was on the same par. Anyhow, here are a couple that stood out the most to me:

Quote

YOU WITH THE STILL SOUL

Maybe you have a still soul that
goes murmurless like water in the deep
of rivers;

And perchance you wander
silent amid the din of the world’s
grinding barter like one
journeying in strange lands.

You, too, with the still soul,
have your mission, for beneath the
dashing, noisy waves must ever
run the silent waters that give the tide
its course.

- Max Ehrmann

And this one I thought was interesting... Reminds me of some of Arthur Rimbaud's writing from the late 1800's:

Quote

COMPLACENT WOMEN - 1918

Complacent women, sitting idly by,
Bestirring not a hand for freedom's sake,
Hear you no voices calling you to rise?
Hear you no bitter cries of women slaves,
Scar-marked and cuffed through all the ages past,
The sea dirge of a sea of women's tears?

Complacent women, sitting idly by,
Bereft of dreams, dead-faced, with leaden souls,
What sting will rouse you up to stand erect,
Convert your placid thoughts to fierce demands,
And warm your hearts with flames of human fire?

Is there within your soul no pride of life,
No whispered music, and no star of hope,
That you have no desire for human rights?
Slaves of ten thousand years, or playthings cheap,
I taunt you, sting you with the tongue of shame,
To rouse you up to claim your heritage.

- Max Ehrmann

And this one, I didn't feel that the whole poem was worth repeating but I liked this particular verse (from Max Ehrmann's "Love and Faith"):

Quote

You may even feel that your
sorrow is but a school to teach
you the virtues of sympathy and
gentleness, that will avail
you hereafter, though you know
not where.