Not to get too high-falootin' but Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote this:
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded."
I've carried this around on a piece of newprint for many years and it makes me feel better just to take it out and read it once in a while when I start feeling that I'm not getting anywhere and the world is turning to shit.
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