A poem that brought me to tears today... ( A good read for those affected by the tragedy this week)

[Piano Man]

This afternoon at 1:00pm, the University of Northern Iowa cancelled all classes for 1 hour in order to hold a campus wide memorial. At this gathering, the most moving speech given was by an arabian man who read the following excerpt. It was perhaps the most moving thing I have ever witnessed in my life. The compassion of which he read was beyond any I know of. This was truly a great man who understands more about life than I do.

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway.

 

[Wallydraigle]

That is a very good piece. I think Paul Harvey might have written it, or maybe he just borrowed it from someone else. It fits very well right now.

 

[Piano Man]

The funny thing is that I had yet to shed a tear since the tragedy on Tuesday. Don't get me wrong, I felt horrible, but when there are so many questions, it makes everything hazy and hard to understand. I think this poem helped break down all the "excess" in life, and get to the point of what it means to be a great person. It was so refreshing, I can't even describe it.