As we embark on a fresh new year and indeed a brand new decade, it is a time for making resolutions full of good intentions with hope for the future.
There are so many wonderful things that go on in the world and so many kind and inspiring people, however, these can at times become buried with negativity, complexity and chaos.
In order to maintain a healthy perspective and look after your mental health it is so important to actively seek out the silver linings in every situation.
To set the tone for my year I have put this poem up in my office as a creed for my decade. In my opinion, it is one of the most inspiring pieces of writing I have ever discovered.
It is a poem called Desiderata and was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann, a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana. The word Desiderata means “things that are desired”.
Embracing a new decade
Life can at times be quite challenging and Desiderata provides a concise and powerful reminder of how important it is to strive for what is important. The poem reminds us to treat each other kindly and to be gentle with ourselves. This, I personally believe is the perfect way to embrace life in the 2020’s.
I hope you find inspiration in these words…
Desiderata – A creed for life …
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 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.
Strive to be happy.
Happy 2020 and may it be filled with health, happiness, love and joy.
Please email liggy@liggywebb.com if you would like access to a free online library of life skills resources
An interview with Liggy Webb
