REACTION PAPER IN DESIDERATA

Max Ehrmann’s prose poem entitled Desiderata (1927), a Latin translation of desired things, is one of the most powerful poems to date. It advocates people to see the beauty and importance of our existence in midst of challenges and trickery. It is a poem of hope. It didn’t just tell us to be positive in life but it shows us how to remain positive despite of life’s awful circumstances.

Each line is relevant and very inspiring. Overall it tells us that three of the most important things in this world are happiness, love and peace. It also tells us to remain to be a good person. Respect every individual. Listen to others for we can learn from them. Never compare ourselves to others for we are unique in our own way, some maybe better or lesser than us but no one can take our role than ourselves. We are existing in this world because we are special and because all of us have their own distinctive roles. But we must also learn to be strong and firm in our thoughts, we must not be affected by the bad influences around us, even though we are surrounded with it, we must know our focus and priority. Pursue our dream and be happy for our achievements but never brag it, cause that won’t bring us happiness.

I personally like the poem because it is very inspiring and I’ve learned a lot of things from it. It is a must read poem, it finds way how to give sunshine during my dark days. It will make me realize why life is importance, why I am important. Every line of the poem is also relevant and useful. The author is brilliant, I must say. The poem is written with simplicity but each line is full of substance. He succeeded to inspire a lot of people around the globe. This kind of poem will remain infinity and beyond.

Life is full of challenges, sometimes it is really hard to keep moving but we must never stop. The path maybe is difficult but still we have our feet to help us walking. The tests maybe is difficult to solve but we have our wonderful brain to guide us answering. Problem sometimes seems to be impossible but we have our God who is willing to help us. If the glass is half full or half empty is depends on how you see it. Being positive is a choice and so does happiness. They are just waiting to be claimed, as Sir Max Erhmann said “With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”