Zen's Refrigerator Door

Zen's Refrigerator Door

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there my be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly & clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull & ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud & aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain & bitter;
for always there will be greater
and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your 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 & disenchantment
it is 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 imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue & loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees & 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 & aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life
keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.

Be careful, strive to be happy.
©1927 Max Ehrmann

My friend, Jim

A part of you, A part of me

You are Special

Threads of Permanence

Friendship

With every goodby, you learn

A creed to live by

She was not beautiful

That new kid is not like me

Simple vs. Real Friends

Slow down

An open letter to John Ashcroft

I KNEW THIS PLACE

I knew this place when fields were rich with corn
and hay smelled clover-sweet in fork-filled loft;

I knew it in winter, safe when snow fell soft,
and in the spring when farmyard young were born.

I can still hear the tall clock on the stair,
see swings, a crooked tree, a lantern's light;
remember glowing hearth, a rocking chair.

And now - bare fields, torn roof and fence askew
my throat grows tight with tears to see you so.

Dear lonely house, I hope you cannot know
what years have done with me, as well as you.

And yet - one thing perhaps, time cannot kill,
for joy lived in us both, and echoes still.

Ina Ladd Brown

Every person is like a piece of gold.
If you were a gold ring,
a gold watch,
a gold chain,
you could say
"I am a ring, a watch, a chain"
But these are temporary shapes.
In truth you are just gold.
That is your essence,
No matter how the shape changes.

Accomplishing anything important involves risk and therefore fear. But if you let the fear dominate you'd never take any risks and therefore you wouldn't accomplish anything.

For every hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat
My heart sings but a grateful song -
These were the things that made me strong!
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!

'Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate man's will to strive
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep man's will alive.
O'er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.

Found among my mother's things