To My Magnificent Agents, Staff and Friends:
According to Wikipedia, in 1927 Max Ehrmann (1872 – 1945), a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana wrote “Desiderata”. The title is Latin and can be translated as either “Things to be Desired” or “Things Desired as Essential.”
It has been said that Ehrmann was inspired to write the poem by a higher purpose that he wrote about in his diary: “I should like, if I could, to leave a humble gift – a bit of chaste prose that had caught up some noble moods.”
I believe that all of us possess an innate desire to leave something significant behind. What so many don’t realize is that one does not need to be a famous, rich, powerful or historically significant person to make a lasting impact on the world. All of us, in fact, do leave our marks. You need go no further than your children or grandchildren. I look at my off springs as not only a treasure for me on earth, but the single most valuable contribution I will leave behind when I depart this world. Despite that, I still find myself possessed with an overwhelming need to strive for some greater purpose. Most of us do.
The author, Ray Bradbury described this common need succinctly when he wrote, “Everyone must leave something behind when he dies … A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there.
It doesn’t matter what you do so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.”
I often wonder if we don’t consistently underestimate how much of a difference we have made and how valuable we actually are. I also wonder if Max Ehrmann had any idea how much his “humble gift” would make a difference in people’s lives or the inspiration that it would give to so many, nearly seventy years after his passing. I hope he did, because his words are powerful and his advice is ageless and uplifting for it speaks loudly of our individual significance – a significance that we too often overlook amid the hustle and bustle of our ambitious lives.
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.
Each of us has a purpose. There is a reason we are here on earth. We all have a destiny; a legacy. We are not here by chance. To question your significance at times may be human nature, but none of us are weak, nor are we irrelevant. Quite the contrary. Following the precepts put forward in Desiderata is an integral component in acquiring the true vision of our ultimate purpose and achieving it. It will also provide each of us with the ingredients necessary to experience and enjoy an abundant life, regardless of our circumstance or station.
When Moses was drawn to Mt. Horeb and God appeared to him and told him that He was sending him back to Pharaoh to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. Moses first questioned his own ability to accomplish such a daunting purpose. Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God’s simple reply was, “I will be with you.” (Exodus 3:11-12) Moses was eighty years old and a lowly shepherd, yet he no one can argue his legacy. So it is with each of us. With faith, we are no less powerful and no less significant. What is important is not the instrument in God’s hand, but the One in whose hand the instrument is being held. So, be cheerful and strive to be happy. With faith, you will achieve your intended purpose and it will be powerful, awesome and remembered!
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
Bill