Queen Elizabeth II called 1992 an annus horribilis for herself and her family. With happenings in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza we might feel the same about 2024. Although, if you look, and are open to it, there is hope and generosity all around.
Max Ehrmann wrote Desiderata in 1927:
“Go placidly amid the noise and haste …. . You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars.”
As our own contribution, we have noted a few lines for a Desideratum For Our Age, updated for how life appears to us in the third decade of the 21st century.
Desideratum
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Be proud of your birth. It might have happened for a reason.
Speak your mind with confidence. Everyone has something to say.
Be kind towards yourself and others, including those you may not trust completely. It will enlarge your heart.
Feed your soul. Enjoy yourself and give pleasure to those you meet.
Speak your truth but speak it kindly. Listen compassionately.
Have confidence in those around you, unless or until you find their motive is not true.
The planet has to recover from what we have done to it. Do what you can to help.
Don’t be quick to judge. Our existence is complicated.
Don’t be gratuitously aggressive or violent however appealing it may seem. It is anti social, destructive behaviour.
Don’t believe everything you are told but listen with grace. Life is complex.
Some people who are not bad find it necessary to lie or do strange things.
Try not to do unhelpful favours. Always be honest wherever you can.
If you are asked to do silly, meaningless things, you are not being respected as a human being. Some people become so consumed with hate, it overtakes everything they do.
Don’t become unduly concerned about what goes on around you, out of your sight. It’s not possible to see around corners nor always to assess the intentions of others.
Try to look through everyday events to the bigger picture behind, in your life and for others in the world we share. You might be surprised at your conclusions.
Wonder at what is not understood in the universe where we live. Marvel at our evolution:
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