Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

At fifteen I doubt that I understood - or much noticed - the last sentence.

Some serious science now tells us we discount our achievements, especially if we have measured achievement by accumulation. We do this largely because we will usually compare ourselves to someone else who has accumulated more (fame, money, power, prestige, etc., etc...)

The author, Max Erhmann, an Indiana lawyer and businessman, knew this from experience. He was about my present age when he wrote the poem.

Desiderata is Latin for "things desired." Choosing what we desire - or losing our desires - is a crucial and often courageous act.

Am I ready... able... willing... to accept the blessing that God offers? Do I desire that which deepens my relationship with others and with God? Or do I desire that which separates?