I've been given to understand before that this was a bit over-exposed in the hippie generation, and abused by tacky self-helper types, but it touched me so deeply when I first read it, and finding it suddenly again, it strikes me as so very Quaker.
Go placidly amidst 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 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 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 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 and drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
1 comment:
As a veteran of the hippie generation, I can say that Yes, this was overexposed, but it does contain some real wisdom mixed with a pinch of schmaltz.
I find it intersting that although I have read this many times I have never before seen it attributed to the actual author or to any known human being. I always saw it tacked up on a bulletin board or passed around at gatherings with an attribution something like "found in Old St. Paul's Cathedral built in 1678 (or some such date)". The impression was left that this piece was an archeological find and that it had been written long long ago.
Maybe I could take a really good post from "of the best but plain" and leave it under a cushion at 15 Rutherford Place so someone could find it, copy it, and distribute it with the explanation "found in a meetinghouse of the Quakers, founded by George Fox in 1652."
- - Rich Accetta-Evans
(The Brooklyn Quaker
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