FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence"...
- Desiderata

Can anyone beat my record of having had this inspiring and meaningful composition sitting in a frame on a shelf somewhere in whichever house we happened to be living, no matter where in this world we might have moved to, for at least the past 30 years... I would never have left behind my "Desiderata"!

Isnt it funny how something can grab us as so inspiring in one instant of our complicated young lives, and stick with us forever, as if ever letting it go, will bring us bad karma.   

I guess as much as I hate to admit it, somewhere deep inside of me dwells a superstitious creature, not to the point of being obsessive at all, but never EVER daring to let go of a particular intangible precious thing, or dare to do a particular something in a different way than I have ever done it before.   You know what I mean... these can be some pretty mundane things such as being pedantic about the way I hang my clothes in the wardrobe.  They absolutely MUST face a certain way before I put them in their place on the hanger!  Or as a certain family member does, always skipping the third step!  That's not so bad if you are 12, but can raise a few eyebrows if discovered by someone when you are 30-something!

Not that there's anything wrong with those things.  And, just to clarify - I am definitely not talking about OCD sufferers, I feel empathy for those people and do not begin to assume that I could compare what I am referring to, with the struggle many of these individuals must face in the normal everyday world which most of us take for granted..... but it does still make you wonder why some of us do this other very odd behaviour I speak of, no matter how old we get.

And so it is with me and "Desiderata".  It is something I need to see on my shelf every time I dust around it, and I always pause, as if acknowledging an old friend, and silently read even just one line or two each time, as if to pay my respects to something I find I can identify with, as if it knew what I was thinking and still does.  Kind of a reassuring old friend, I suppose, one who makes me feel calmer and brings me back to the time where I first saw it half a lifetime ago, and how it made me feel, and still does, even if just for a few fleeting moments, whenever I look at it. 

 I am nobody special, but the human traits that this particular composition "Desiderata" alludes to, such as respect for everyone where respect ought to be given, an ear to really just listen with when that is all someone is really asking of you.  Being humble, honest and gracious, but above all, trust in your own judgment, whilst still listening to others.  These are things I aspire to, but mostly these days, we all fall far short much of the time, for reasons or excuses which we never seem to run out of.   Still... looking at my framed "Desiderata" now and then, I still feel than same inner peace for those few moments, and it will inspire me to keep striving for those ideals, however impossible they seem some days, as we often get through those days in the best way we can.