Look this poem up on the Internet. It used to be one of my mother’s favourites and we had various copies on all sorts of objects from tea towels to a rather nice engraved metal plaque inside a frame. It is a lovely poem and has been the subject of much ambiguity and even legal disputes (look it up on Wikipedia to see its tangled history)!
That’s part of the reason that I have not reproduced the whole poem below, but just the first sentence and the last.Even this small amount maybe considered “a substantial part” in litigation terms, but when I’m sad or feeling lonely it is a lovely thing to read and helps you get your priorities back in order. I don’t claim to meet its ideals but my “mission” if I had one would be to try and follow the principles laid out in this poem.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. [….] Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
“Desiderata” is a 1927 poem written by the American writer Max Ehrmann.
And this is my final post in bloganuary as I think it is a very appropriate note upon which to end this month long challenge at which I tried, failed the bit occasionally, but nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed. Roll on 2024 and may it improve as the year progresses.
Memory Jar 
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