THE FOOTPATH TO PEACE

By Henry van Dyke - 1852-1933
with thanks to Phil Fitzpatrick

To be glad of life,
because it gives you the chance to love
and to work and to play
and to look up at the stars;

to be satisfied with your possessions
but not content with yourself
until you have made the best of them;

to despise nothing in the world
except falsehood and meanness,
and to fear nothing except cowardice;

to be governed by your admirations
rather than by your disgusts;

to covet nothing of your neighbor's
except his kindness of heart
and gentleness of manners;

to think seldom of your enemies,
often of your friends
and everyday of Christ;

and to spend as much time as you can
with body and with spirit
in God's out-of-doors;

~ these are little guideposts
on the footpath to peace.

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