Beautiful People--- Melanie Safka Schekeryk

Beautiful People,
You live in the same world as I do.
But somehow, I never noticed
You before today,
I'm ashamed to say.

Beautiful people,
We share the same back door,
And it isn't right
We never met before.
But then,
We may never meet again.

If I weren't afraid you'd laugh at me,
I would run and take all your hands
And I'd gather everyone together for a day.
And when we're gathered,
I'll pass buttons out that say:
"Beautiful people".
Then you'd never have to be alone,
Because there'll always be someone
With the same button on as you.
Include her in everything you do.

Beautiful people,
 You ride the same subway
As I do every morning.
 That's got to tell you something---
We've got so much in common!
 I go the same direction that you do.
So if you take care of me,
Maybe I'll take care of you.

Beautiful people,
You look like friends of mine.
And it's about time
 That someone said it.
Here and Now,
I make a vow
That some time, somehow,
I'll have a meeting.
Invite everyone you know !
I'll pass out buttons to
The ones who come, to show ---
Beautiful people
Never have to be alone
Because there'll always be someone
With the same button on as you---
Include her in everything you do....

She may be sitting right next to you.
She may be beautiful people too.
And if you take care of her,
 Maybe she'll take care of you.
Because all the beautiful people do.
And you're all Beautiful people too....
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I Corinthians, Chapter 13--- St. Paul
(Lorraine's version)

Though I may speak with
all the voices of men and angels,
if I have not love, I would only make sounds
 like a crashing brass or tinkling cymbals.
Though I may have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all mysteries and knowledge,
and have all faith that I could move mountains,
 if I have not love, I am nothing.

And though I may bestow
all my goods to feed the poor,
and make other great sacrifices---
Even of my life---
if I have not love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long, and is kind;
love is not envious or jealous,
is not boastful nor proud.
Loves does not behave badly,
seeks nothing for itself,
is not easily provoked,
and thinks no evil.

Love rejoices not in deceptions,
injustice and immorality,
but rejoices in the truth.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

Love never fails;
but prophecies shall fail;
voices shall cease;
knowledge shall vanish away.
For we know things only in part,
and we prophesy only in part.

But when that which is perfect and whole has come,
then that which is only partial shall vanish.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child,
and I understood as a child;
but when I became an adult,
I put away childish things.

For now, we see through a looking-glass, darkly,
but after, we will see face to face.
Right now, I only know in part,
but then, I shall know even as I am known.
There will always be present,
these three great gifts: faith, hope and love,
but the greatest of these is love.
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The Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light,
and Where there is sorrow, joy.

Oh Divine Master, grant that
I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."
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Desiderata--- Max Ehrman

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 careful, but strive to be happy.
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Baha'i Prayer for Peace

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in judgement, and guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind,
a dew to the soil of the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

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