Desiderata – This Thing Called Life

This thing called life. It can be brutal and hard, and yet sometimes it can be so appealing. Of course, it’s never a smooth road for any of us as we all have our good days and our bad times. As such, it’s tempting sometimes to look over to the familiar “neighbor’s” side of the road and see their grass looking greener. But is it? Perceptions could be deceiving, my friend.

Therefore, when we don’t appreciate our very own path, the little things in life, the people, the ordinary moments, the simplicity of living, we tend to glance at the others to seek comparisons. But are we sure that they live a sweeter existence? That they have everything that we don’t?

It’s so easy to judge, to make assumptions, and to think that someone has a better life than we do. And you know what, maybe some of them do, but we don’t know what it took for them to get there. We’re not aware of their struggles, their pain, their small unique victories, and we were not with them on their journey. We all experience life differently, and not all of us accomplish things at the same time.

That is there are no rules on how to live your life. And if there are – let’s break them! Because I think that would be a more exciting way to live anyway. 

So today, I lovingly say, let’s banish the envy, and let’s try to stay focused on our journeys, our own extraordinary, distinctive adventures. And when you wake up today and start your day – look around you, my friend, make a mental gratitude list of all the things you have in your life, including a place to live and food to eat. Many on this planet still don’t have what we do: their own homes, nutritious food, proper medicine, and necessary fundamental human rights to live in dignity.

And it’s already 2020.

Ponder about this for a moment.

And while you’re thinking, take a look at the piece of old literature below. It’s called “Desiderata.” The author wrote the poem a long time ago, but the advice he provides still paints useful words of wisdom. And even today, it’s an excellent reminder of how to remain happy in spite of life’s difficulties.