"Retreat"

 

Retreat 

Let there be silence sometimes,

A space of starless night –

A silence, a space of forgetfulness

Away from seething of lives,

The rage of struggle.

Let there be a time of retreat,

A hiding of the sun and all colours,

For the soul to ride at ease in darkness;

For the coldness of no-life

To soothe life’s burning.

Let there be rest 

For wearied eyes to ease their labour

And wander across great distances,

For the spirit to slip the chain of hours

And drift in Atlantic waves of time.

Grant peace;

For a space let there be no roar

Of wheels and voices, no din

Of steel and stone and fire.

Let us cleanse ourselves from the sweat and dirt,

Let us be hushed, let us breathe

The cold sterile wind from colourless space.

Richard Aldington

Desiderata

 

Go placidly amid 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 the 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 as 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 dark 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, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, 1927

"Oh, Great Spirit ...."

Oh, Great Spirit

Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world,

hear me, I am small and weak,

I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold

the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have

made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make me wise so that I may understand the things

you have taught my people.

Let me learn the lessons you have

hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,

but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.

Make me always ready to come to you

with clean hands and straight eyes.

So when life fades, as the fading sunset,

my Spirit may come to you without shame.

Chief Yellow Lark, Lakota tribe

 

"Go to the Limits of our Longing"

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"Proverbs and Tiny Songs"

 

Proverbs and Tiny Songs

You walking, your footprints are

the road, and nothing else;

there is no road, walker,

you make the road by walking.

By walking you make the road,

and when you look backward,

you see the path that you

never will step on again.

Walker, there is no road,

Only wind-trails in the sea.

Antonio Machado

"Song of the Open Road"

 From the Song of the Open Road

Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,

The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good fortune,

Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,

Down with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,

Strong and content, I travel the open road.

The earth, that is sufficient, 

I do not want the constellations any nearer,

I know they are very well where they are,

I know they suffice for those who belong to them.

(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,

I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,

I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,

I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)

Walt Whitman

"Unanswered Questions"

 

Unanswered Questions

Shall you and I leave everything behind,

Go westward walking,

Never again be conscious of the mind,

But walking, talking

Of flowers and birds and clouds, with no routine,

Not wonder ever again what consciousness may mean?

Shall you and I go eastward in grave thought

And inward prying,

Be conscious, introspective, haggard, caught

Sighing and whying;

With all clear mind and valuable breath

Expended on cold doubts about eventual death?

Will you and I, submitting to the wind,

Go northward roaring?

That may be one good way to leave behind

The too trim harbor mooring:

Partake some great campaign, some large experience, some

Worthy extensive excuse for returning glorious home.

Can you and I go southward without blame

Into the region we love,

Fading without desire for famous name,

Or calculated move?

Can we in sunlight, both contentedly,

Live without ambition, gazing at blue sea?

Harold Monro