Today I did a little cleaning around my desk, trashed most of the 2010 files to make room for the 2011 stuff. I found so many pieces of paper...papers I had written on, papers I have ripped from textbooks, magazines, printed from the Internet...just tons of paper all with what else but quotes on them! :)
These were all quotes that I found throughout random days that caught my attention enough to save them.
However, there was one in particular today that caught my attention once again.
At some point in the last year or so a co-worker got a new coffee mug and the box that held the mug I just had to have so I asked could I have the box and I cut the cardboard and saved that piece of the box.
Let me interrupt for a moment to be honest...If you read my New Years resolution post then you know that I am trying not to over analyze and think out every possible scenario for each situation in my life which will hopefully decrease my stress level....well, I am only 13 days in and have not really done so well so for me to find this piece of cardboard today was divine intervention to remind me to relax, breathe and know that everything is under control.
Back to my story, the quote on the box says this: "Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
WOW! That was just the swift reminding kick that I needed!
I decided to "Google" the quote and come to find out it is from a poem called "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann.
I included the poem below, so you can check it out - but basically, it is ideas of how you can attain happiness in life. I definitely recommend reading it. It reminds us of many simple truths we often forget. For example one favorite I read states: "If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself." Good advice huh? Simple but so hard to remember at times!
After reading more about the poem I found out that it was written as collection of devotional materials compiled for a congregation.
I decided to break down the collection and found 19 pieces of "advice. I decided that for the next 19 days, each morning I will read the advice and practice it throughout the day then I will post my thoughts on that days "task".
I have labeled the points with a ~ just to make it easier to keep up with - if you decide to take on this "challenge" now or at any point, let me know how it goes for you too!
So here I go, on yet another "daily challenge" I have the cardboard cut-out hanging on my bulletin board at work as a daily reminder! :) After all, a poem titled "Desiderata" which is Latin for "desired things" that reminds me multiple times how to attain what we all desire the most in life; happiness, has to be a great way to help me once again jump-start my New Years resolution! :)
I am hopeful that by the time I venture through numbers 1-18 that number 19 will come even easier than it already does!
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| My daily reminder to exhale :) |
"Desiderata"
~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 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."
— Max Ehrmann
xoxo,
Faith
