“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.”
If
you were, like me, a teen in the 1970s, you may recognize that as the opening
lines of Desiderata. Written by American Max Ehrmann in 1927, it was reprinted
on posters in coffee shops and dorm rooms across North America. It was even a
hit song on the radio in 1972.
Desiderata
— Latin for “things desired” — became like a credo for many people, including
me. For a teenager wondering about his future and place in the world, the
concluding lines brought special comfort: “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.”
Desiderata came to mind when a Christian friend told me he had
written a personal manifesto to help guide him in the last third of his life.
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