it is still a beautiful world

my last entry was in march this year. months have passed and so have moments. however, inspirations come from little things, things that hardly matter to everyone. it has always been a delight to share feelings and knowledge with people who exhibit a fervent enthusiasm in accepting them. such a person who brought this stimulation is the reason i pen this entry today. therefore allow me to dedicate this month to gaurie who has appreciated both my sense of philosophy and the simplicity that i portray in my artwork.

`desiderata' meaning desired things in latin, has inspired me long before i knew the title and the poet. and i had marked a little poem myself so i may remember what i had heard for time to come.

i had once read an extract
a few years pass the lane
am not sure where it came from
i remember it all the same

its a learning of existence
one that will stay by me
along my journey ahead
as it shapes my life to be

i will share the extract now
and will try to make it short
a summary of the whole
though there is really quite a lot

in the noise and haste of life
the silence we must feel
the love and care we create
to let the wounded heal

to ask not for affection
yet to freely give
to hear the dull and ignorant
for they too need to live

to take kindly counsel of the years
surrendering things of youth
strength of spirit in misfortune
others' despair to soothe

to discern that we are all
the children of the universe
no less than the trees and stars
as best as they are with us

the knowledge that we need not fear
though fatigue and loneliness will come
and dashes of confusion arise
a flow of pain and harm

whether it is clear or not
the universe itself will unfold
so be at peace at all times
let honesty and truth behold

even in the midst of hatred
love has often found its way
whatever aspirations we labor
we can make it ours to stay

to change those who permit
to touch the lives we can
to right the wrongs if any
to lend a helping hand

with all its shams and drudgery
broken hearts and dreams
it is still a beautiful world
no matter what it seems

i tried my best to make
this the shortest summary
hoping the message will do for you
what good it has done me.


it was only years later that i was given the extract and was told of `desired things', a poem by max erhman, an american writer of german descent in 1927. he was a deputy state's attorney in terre haute, indiana. he studied law and philosophy at harvard. desiderata reached fame only after his death. surprisingly years later in 1956, desiderata was used as a religious compilation of devotional materials for a congregation by rev frederick kates in maryland. i stress on surprising because erhman's extract specifies, `be at peace with god whatever you may perceive him to be'... and as far as i have studied of christianity, it would not have yielded to a message such as this.


i am nearing my 5th decade of life, which brings me to say that erhman has perfected our lives in that one sentence `with all its shams drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world'. no matter how much pain i have gone through, i have never wanted to let go of those memories for they have given me a perfect life of roses and thorns.

how do we ever view the beauty of the roses if we are never pricked by those thorns?

as a young girl i have tried interpreting poems, and often have read the same poem twice and have concluded differently. therefore, instead of explaining what it means to me, permit me to let it unfold and explain itself in the approach that you see appropriate at whatever time, whatever age and whatever moment you embrace it.

thank you gaurie, for making me write my moment and expressing my life in it with whatever influences that has directed the paths i have treaded. desiderata has often given me that choice in the road less taken. with that, may you find solace and wisdom in it too.