Monday, October 17, 2005

All I need to know I learned in the Blogosphere

Apologies to Fulgham.
Hat tip to Doc.
Okay, then. Here goes...

**As a whole, people are smarter than you. It's okay. Turn the page.
**The best way to get attention is to give it.
**Manipulation is the currency of fools.
**Never underestimate the capacity of fools to act accordingly.
**If you really need help, ask for it.
**Anonymity isn't what it's cracked up to be.
**Admitting when you're wrong helps you more than the other guy.
**Writing every day is good for the soul.
**Sharing your insides helps others share theirs.
**You're not nearly as important as you think you are.
**What other people think of you isn't nearly as important as what you think of yourself.
**People are like snowflakes, all different, yet all the same.
**Take what you need for yourself, but leave something behind for the other guy.
**Never, ever underestimate your right to freedom or the gift of freedom that you have.
**It's better to be happy than right.
**Technology's greatest gift to humankind is the spellchecker.
**Standing up for your beliefs "come what may" is better than sitting down in comfort with somebody else's.
**Respecting yourself begins with respecting others.
**If you gain from something somebody else says, tell them.
**You can't be a part of something unless you participate.
**Meeting people at core enhances the sweetness of meeting them in person.
**Walk away once in awhile, so you always have the energy to come back.
**Nobody is better than you, but neither is anybody worse.
**Yesterday's successes or failures don't matter much today.
**Laugh and laugh again, especially at yourself.
**Nobody's perfect, not even you. It's okay. Turn the page.


While I'm at it, time to remember Desiderata...

Go placidly amid the noise and 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 the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and 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 disenchantmentit 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 with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

1 comment:

Hoots said...

I see what you mean. It's one of those not-so-subtle heresies that worms its way into one's thinking, turning "good faith" counterfeit. It reminds me of the deliberately undefined second step reference to the "higher power" of AA. Let's pray together that our comments will vaccinate my post against misunderstandings on the part of those who read it.

When I compare the fullness of a life of faith with the clinical emptiness of the alternative, I am led to plant ideas that might redirect others, even a degree or two, toward the Light. I see Desiderata is such a seed. Remembering the obdurate athiesm of some of my peers from the sixties, I sense a similar vanity in today's idols...money, looks, power, cheap grace.