Today I had the pleasure of reading A Psalm Of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The following is the last line:

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

Recently, Richie Franklin shared this beautiful psalm by Longfellow with my writer support group. Regretfully, I couldn’t read it when he posted the poem, but I opened it in a browser tab for future perusal. I’m a terrible tab hoarder and will keep as many as 50 open at once.

Time passed, as time does, and soon at least a month had gone by — I know, I’m pathetically busy at times. Today I had a little more time on my hands than usual, and I started closing out ancient tabs by reading them or by deciding they weren’t important and killing them without wasting my time. I’m so glad I was able to be in the right state of mind to read and enjoy this beautiful work.

Much more eloquent than I could even aspire to be, Longfellow reminds us to be present in the present, work hard, be patient, and enjoy the fruits of our labors. Oh, and make the best of everything life has to offer.

Wonderful advice for this era of near-instant gratification.

This post brought to you by the most patient dog I’ve EVER SEEN: