I fell in love with this poem in 1996, upon being sent a card including it by my friend Jalayne. It resonated with me immediately then, and it had a place on my fridge for many years. I had a dream about it last night and so this morning I looked it up. I wanted to read it again. It still resonates with me now, even thought it was written one hundred years ago. I wanted to share it with all of you.
Thank you for sharing this Tara. I had a very dear friend who had this hung in his room, he has since passed. I had forgotten these words. Thanks for the reminder.
Wow, beautiful words – thank you for sharing Tara.
I love this more than I can even explain! First time reading it & I already want to hang it in my room to read daily. :)
Thank you for sharing!!
This is my favorite poem. I gave a framed copy to each of my sons when they moved away from home. Thanks for sharing it and reminding me the peace I find in reading it.
I have had this on a bookmark(like a real hand held bookmark for reading, not a virtual one on my computer ha ha0 since 1988, LOVE IT! It really was my very favorite and still is, though I actually hadn’t read it in awhile! Thanks for reminding me of it!
tara
I love this poem. I especially love the second stanza. Many people feel that in order to get their point across they must be loud and abrasive. In actuality the opposite is true. I’m going to post this in my office and share with others. Thank you!
My parents have this poem framed in their bathroom. Every time I come there I see it. And it calms me. These are some wonderful words. Thank you for reminding me now again, in my own home.
This is the best thing I’ve read all year. Thank you.
We had a copy of this framed in our living room growing up.
My dad had it framed in our basement when I was growing up…so I still read it today with his voice in my head, as if he wrote it. Thank you for sharing it today.
incredible.
love these words.
love that you had a dream about it.
thanks so much for sharing!
Holy S! I need this painted on Scarlett’s walls.
A beautiful reminder, thank you!
I’m going to print and frame and put in our home too, so that my kids can grow up knowing this to be true.
Thanks for sharing Tara.
Love,
Gabbie xo
I had a copy in the late 70’s— big wall poster.
Amen.
This is my favorite as well. I have it on my dresser and look at it every day.
My junior year of high school, a teacher read it to us and I came home and found a copy and have had it ever since.
Beauty and perfection in words!
One of my all time favorites too. Thanks for the reminder.
this was nice to read today :) thank-you!!
I had this poster in the seventies also….. always been a favorite and with every new decade you may fall upon it something new speaks to you..Thanks for the new awakening
I can see why you love it. Thank you for sharing. If I had my way with words I would say this too.
My husband gave this to me about 16 yrs ago. But we have been moving here there and everywhere. I have forgotten about it. I love it. Thanks for reminding me.
I had this as a poster in my childhood bedroom. It spoke to me then, as it does now.
Tara…
Your blog always amazes me… Whenever I need a ‘lift’ I usually check you out in the AM before heading off to teach 93 teenagers! Your post really shook me this AM… I grew up in a house where Desiderata was boldly displayed in an ornate frame in our downstairs bathroom… LoL. I love it and always have… I have long since left the home I grew up in and now have my own home with a husband and child and now i’ll go searching for my own copy to display…
I go placidly…
I loved this so much I memorized it when I was a kid. We had the album (which came with the poster), starring Vincent Price on vocals and some background singers singing the “You are a child/Of the Universe” refrain. Now I need to check my mom’s house for it.
My favorite line was always “No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here.”
Thanks for sharing this today.
Thanks for sharing this! It is a great gift to come upon things like this while perusing the internet, and I look forward to passing it along to others.
love these beautiful words… thank you.
All weepy here.
Have loved this since the 70’s when I first read it – so much that’s it actually perched above my computer area at this moment while I write! Might have to go hang it in the bathroom…where it’s more visible & seems to be a common spot for it to live!
I think of my mom every time I read this. In the 1980s when I was growing up, she had a poster of it framed in her home office and paid each of us kids $100 if we memorized it in full.
Words to live by. :)
Love this one. I can’t remember where I first saw it, but I remember writing to a Jewish temple in LA to get a free copy over ten years ago. It ever gets old.
Beautiful words.
much of this poem reads like a paraphrase of some of Proverbs and other scriptures from the Bible… interesting:)
I missed this somehow. I love it so and it came at the perfect time. xoxo
I somehow found this poem about 30 plus years ago when graduating from high school. It has always resonated with me as well. I have given this to so many kids in high school that were struggling with issues at home or in school. I believe it speaks to many because it is so true even 100 years late. Thanks for the reminder about my favorite poem.
My 23 year old daughter is in the process of moving to California to pursue her dreams. Its time to refresh her memory about this poem as she begins her life adventure. Scary and exciting!
Read this as a teen and fell in love with it, too. Have one framed in our bathroom. It’s timeless!!! I need to be sure to give my teens a copy when they move out some day!
I needed that today. That is beautiful, thanks for sharing.
What a coincidence Tara. This hangs at the bottom of my stairs. I hung it there recently after my mother in law gave it to me. It hung in my late father in laws office for more than 15 years. It struck a cord with me as well and since he was such a special person to us all, I hung it on the wall where we would see it everyday : ).
I had this on my wall in college or a part of it. It just resonates with me. Thank you for sharing:) I am going to search for another one to frame now.
Wow! I’m 42. My mom had a framed copy of this hanging in our kitchen for as long as I can remember. She’s always lived by these words…saying when we were kids: “even if you’re a ditch digger, just be happy!!”
Thank you for posting this. I need to find a print to hang up where I can see this daily. I love it.
I have a print of this framed hanging in my hallway. I found it in an attic when I was about 16 and it has always resonated with me. I haven’t visited your blog in so long, but every time I do I feel so enriched for having been here! Your post above this one is exactly what I was telling myself last night and kind of goes along with a post I did last night regarding capturing the heart of the moment. You have always been my inspiration when it comes to the art of that. :) I hope you are enjoying your blog break and that this time is meaningful for you and your family, but I still can’t wait for your return!
Tara – I wanted to thank you for your inspiration. After discovering your work through a scrapbook magazine, I fell in love with photography and started my own business several years ago. Thank you for inspiring us all!