A Prayer
Let me do my work each day;
and if the darkened hours
of despair overcome me, may
I
not forget the strength
that comforted me in the
desolation of other
times.
May I still remember the bright
hours that found me walking
over the silent hills of my
childhood, or dreaming on
the
margin of a quiet river,
when a light glowed within
me,
and I promised my early God
to have courage amid the
tempests of the changing
years.
Spare me from bitterness
and from the sharp passions
of
unguarded moments. May
I not forget that poverty
and
riches are of the spirit.
Though the world knows me
not,
may my thoughts and actions
be such as shall keep me
friendly
with myself.
Lift up my eyes
from the earth, and let me
not
forget the uses of the
stars.
Forbid that I should judge
others
lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor
of
the world, but walk calmly
in my path.
Give me a few friends
who will love me for
what
I am; and keep ever
burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of
hope.
And though age and infirmity
overtake me, and I come not within
sight of the castle of my
dreams,
teach me still to be
thankful
for life, and for time's
olden
memories that are good and
sweet; and may the evening's
twilight find me gentle
still.
~ Max Ehrmann ~
(The Desiderata of
Happiness)
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