Inspirational poem

As I was recently going through a stack of papers to be organized when I ran across this poem written on notebook paper which had become yellowed and care worn. At one time, when I still lived in Atlanta, I had a "prayer" corner in my bedroom and it was on the wall near this area that I tacked this paper.

After reading it again, I contemplated posting it here simply because I believe it comes from a place of truth and is beautiful in its simplicity. And also because I hadn't posted anything for a long while.

Then, this morning I faced a particularly difficult inner conflict. Jesus' simple yet challenging words often come to me when I am in such a moment of need (all that Sunday schooling didn't just happen for nothing). Today's lesson was, "love thine enemies".

Because I am often overtaken by emotion during conflict situations (to which at least one of you can attest), I often fail to see at the moment of the conflict - especially if I am having it with another person - that it is not the other for whom the words arise but for myself. "Love thine enemy", even when you perceive them to be attacking you. Because it is only with Love that we turn hate in to it's opposite.

My old boss, Ann Knight, would always ask herself, "is this the hill I want to die on?" when she wanted to end a particular conflict. We face this choice every day when we decide to respond toward someone - even someone we love - from a place of either fearful hate or stop in our tracks, take a breath and respond from our hearts where only love abides.

This was my lesson today, one I pray I learned and can recall when the next hill rises before me and asks me to choose. And may I someday come to understand that there really is only one place from which to respond.

Now, for that poem...


May You Always Feel Loved

May you find serenity and tranquility
in a world you may not always understand.
May the pain you have known
and the conflict you have experienced
give you the strength to walk through life
facing each new situation with
courage and optimism.

Always know that there are those
whose love and understanding
will always be there,
even when you feel most alone.

May you discover enough goodness in others
to believe in a world of peace.

May a kind word, a reassuring touch,
a warm smile be yours every day of your life.
And may you give these gifts,
as well as receive them.

Remember the sunshine
when the storm seems unending.

Teach love to those who know hate,
and let that love embrace you
as you go into the world.

May the teaching of those you admire
become part of you,
so that you may call upon them.

Remember, those lives you have touched
and who have touched yours
are always a part of you,
even if the encounters
were less than you would have wished.
It is the content of the encounter
that is more important than its’ form.

May you not become too concerned
with material matters, but instead
place immeasurable value
on the goodness in your heart.

Find time in each day to see the beauty
and love in the world around you.

Realize that each person has limitless abilities,
but each of us is different in our own way.

What you may feel you lack in one regard
may be more than compensated for in another.

What you feel you lack in the present
may become one of your strengths
in the future.

May you see your future
as one filled with promise and possibility.

May you find enough inner strength
to determine your own worth by yourself,
and not be dependent on another’s judgments
of your accomplishments.

May you always feel loved!

Sandra Sturtz Hauss © 1987