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In so many ways I am just like my mom. Mama loved books and all kinds of what she called ‘good literature.’ She always had great books in our house. To this day I can still see the books she kept in her bedroom. Some of her favorites were, How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn, Exodus by Leon Uris, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck to name a few.

She loved poems. One of her favorites was Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, written in 1927. Desiderata in Latin means ‘things that are desired.’ She knew the poem by heart and recited it often. When Paul Harvey’s broadcast ended for the afternoon (in the 1960’s) the radio station would play the written version of the poem. Later in the early 1970’s Les Crane made a recording of it, especially the refrain of the song ‘A Child of the Universe.’ I too love that poem so much and I think of it often. And I think of Mama’s editing of the poem, where she would say, “Therefore be at peace with God, He is not a whatever, He alone is God.”

Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
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.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.