Simple Gifts - Joseph Brackett Jr 1797-1882

'Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be

And when we find ourselves in the place just right

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight

--------REFRAIN--------

When true simplicity is gained

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed

To turn, turn will be our delight

'Til by turning, turning we come round right

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return

'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn

And when we expect of others what we try to live each day

Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say

--------REFRAIN--------

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be

'Tis the gift to think of others not only think of me

And when we hear what others really think and feel

Then we'll all live together with a love that is real

(A Shaker Hymn)

The Over-Soul - Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882

We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles.
Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence;
the universal beauty to which every part and particle is equally related,
the eternal One. And this deep power in which we exist and whose beatitude
is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every hour,
but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle,
the subject and the object, are one. We see the world piece by piece,
as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole,
of which these are shining parts, is the Soul.
(Self-Reliance)

In Tune With The Infinite - Ralph Waldo Trine 1866-1958

Everyday is a fresh beginning, everyday is the world made new
You who are weary of sorrow and sinning
Here is a beautiful hope for you, a hope for me and a hope for you.
All the past things are past and over, the tasks are done and the tears are shed
Yesterday's errors let yesterday cover yesterday's wounds which smarted and bled
Are healed with the healing which night has shed.
Let them go, since we cannot relieve them, cannot undo and cannot atone.
God in His mercy receive, forgive them! Only the new days are our own.
Here are the skies all burnished brightly, here is the spent earth all reborn;
Here are the tired limbs springing lightly to face the sun and to share with the morn
In the chrism of dew and the cool of dawn.
Everyday is a fresh beginning, listen my soul, to the glad refrain
And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning and puzzles forecasted and possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again.

Desiderata - Max Ehrmann 1872-1945

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 ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bittter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business afairs;
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 ful of heroism. Be yourself. Especially donot
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 donot distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and lonliness. 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.

The Two Trees - William Butler Yeats 1865-1939

Beloved, gaze within thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with metry light
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
There the Joves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the winged sandals dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.
Gaze no more in the bitter glass.
The demons, with their subtle guile,
Lift up before us when they pass,
Or only gaze a little while;
For there a fatal image grows
That the stormy night receives;
Roots half hidden under snows,
Broken boughs and blackened leaves.
For all things turn to barrenness
Inthe dim glass the demons hold,
The glass of our outer weariness,
Made when God slept in times of old.
There through the broken branches, go
The ravens of unresting thought;
Flying, crying, to and fro,
Cruel claw and hungry throat,
Or else they stand and sniff the wind,
And shake their ragged wings; alas!
Thy tender eyes grow all unkind:
Gaze no more in the bitter glass.
......................................Tree of Forgiveness - Edward Coley Burne-Jones
....................................................................1833-1898