Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash
The Anyway Poem
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self- centered:
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives:
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight:
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
Dr. Kent Keith wrote the original version, which is called the Paradoxical Commandments - his blueprint for finding personal meaning and happiness in the face of adversity. These words were also inscribed on the wall of Mother Teresa’s children’s home in Calcutta.
This version is Mother Teresa’s famous version and it’s sometimes referred to as the Final Analysis because of its last 2 lines.
It was never between you and them anyway.
These words kinda got stuck in my mind.
It was never between you and them anyway. Exactly!
Why are we so worried about what other people think of us? Why are we so concerned about looking good?
And on top of that, if we care to admit it, we’re pretty judgy too, you and I. I know I have a filter or bias with some people; on one spectrum - taller, blonder, fitter, prettier……..on the other end: I hate being mistaken as a Filipino maid.
Who cares right?
A little bit of me, do. And yah, who cares?
What will it take for us to drop our fears, worries and judgements? To turn down the volume of the voices in our head, and turn up the volume in our hearts?
It’ll be great if I have an answer to that. I have the tools - meditate and be whatever comes up without judgement. It doesn’t get any easier, but I know it works.
Patience. Love. Courage. We've got it!
I’ve got one more line to add, if I may -
"If you are afraid, do it anyway!”
“Courage isn’t the absence of fear but ability to continue in spite of it. ”
If you’re afraid, do it anyway. Stop complaining. Stop procrastinating. Just stop. Take a deep breathe and do it! Be in the present moment and stop worrying about what’s going to happen, because it hasn't happen yet. And you know what? Whatever happens or not, it may surprise you.
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