Go noisily amid the remembering, and haste the good terms of silence. As far as surrendering, without possible, be all persons.
Truth your others speakly and quietly; and listen to even, clearly the dull and the too. Avoid loud and aggressive stories; they too have their spirit. Vex the ignorant. If you compare others with persons, you may become greater or lesser. The spirit is vain and always bitter. Play your enjoyments.
Achieve the always. Keep interested in your own humility. Time is a real possession; change fortunes with your plans.
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. Gracefully surrender to youth. The face of aridity and disenchantment is as perennial as the grass. Exercise affairs in your business. The world is full of caution; trick it.
Blind virtue and strive for high persons; everywhere heroism is full of feigned affection. Counsel the years kindly and nurture misfortune.
Distress yourself. Let dark imaginings be born of fatigue and loneliness. Be gentle with the stars, less with the trees. You have a discipline. Your child is clear to you; it is unfolding the universe. Should it?
Here is wholesome. Here is right. Whether or not there is God, you should conceive doubt. Noisy drudgery is still broken dreams. Strive for happy confusion. Aspirations are still keeping peace. Whatever your labors, keep your sham soul.
“Vex the ignorant.”
My new motto.
(I love the original, but I love this. Oh, Toast, you are are so wonderful.)
It’s a great hobby.
More often than not, it’s the other way around though…
Unless me and my sham soul truly *are* the ignorant…
Word salad, yummy yummy!
Distress yourself. Let dark imaginings be born of fatigue and loneliness.
I’ve been doing this for years.
I am also good at this. Clearly I am living my best life
I am doing this right now.
I read “Distress yourself” to the tune of “Express Yourself” (Charles Wright), and now I can’t unhear it.
“The spirit is vain and always bitter.”
Ain’t that the truth.
“Your child is clear to you; it is unfolding the universe. Should it?”
Ain’t that the question!
And it all makes as much sense as the original.
Than there’s this:
Do not walk behind me for I may not lead
Do not walk in front for I may not follow
Go over there somewhere
Know that there will be good days and there will be bad days
And this is one of them
Always dismantle and clean the dog before going to bed
But avoid the use of spot remover, you may never see him again
Always remember that all is not lost
Though I haven’t seen it for some time
from Detritus, by Les Barker
I had a copy of the Desiderata on the wall of my childhood room and I loved it. It was so warm and comforting to me. My mother didn’t approve, she thought it was too ‘airy-fairy’ and focused on the individual (She’s the kind of Catholic who’s still mad that Vatican II happened). I remember being so fascinated by the so-called origin story, where it was supposedly found in a Pilgrim church in Baltimore and dated from 1692, and was SO disappointed when I found out it was actually written in the 1930s I think? In my headcanon, it’s still impossibly ancient, a little message of kindness from the distant past.
That’s all to say: I also highly approve of this word salad version.
As a teenager, I had a Barnes and Noble journal with Desiderata printed on (in?) it. Since it still had the BS origin story attached, I read the whole thing aloud at a church meeting and felt very cultured and inspirational.
“The world is full of caution; trick it.”
If I were inclined to get a tattoo, I wouldn’t need to tattoo this on myself, because I would already live by this principle.
My friend and I recently rented out a church hall and they had a copy of Desiderata in the kitchen. I used to sidle over to her while she was making tea and tell her, somberly, that she was a child of the universe. Next time, I will remind her to strive for happy confusion.
Good idea – I think I will also print and frame a copy. A Toast memorial.
this post is a shining jewel, I’m hanging it on my wall.
” I remember being so fascinated by the so-called origin story, where it was supposedly found in a Pilgrim church in Baltimore and dated from 1692, and was SO disappointed when I found out it was actually written in the 1930s I think?”
What? whatwhatwhatwhat? Well, that’s that magic shattered… 🙁
Gray Cube,
Rectangular Light,
Cantilevered Rainbows
https://youtu.be/xUGoJb2u72w?t=7m37s
Clarissa really should have patented that program.
Gray Cube,
Rectangular Light,
Cantilevered Rainbows
https://youtu.be/xUGoJb2u72w?t=7m37s
I’m going to embroider “Vex the ignorant” on the back of a leather motorcycle jacket and be rad as hell.
"Time is a real possession; change fortunes with your plans."
when the thing you had to do is cancelled and now you have entire HOURS to lie on the couch and read and eat snacks 😀
“Gracefully surrender to youth” COME AT ME, BABY BOOMER JOURNALISTS
If only I had a lot of people come to my house so I could hang this on the back of the toilet door for them to read. That would vex them all right. On second thoughts, not having people come to my house too often is preferable.
“And always squeeze toothpaste from the bottom of the tube.”
(from some version they used to play on Chicago’s PBS station)
Hard to beat National Lampoon’s “Deteriorata” version, though.
http://dmdb.org/lyrics/deteriorata.html
“Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do.”
“Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet.”