As You Go Through Life

Don’t look for the flaws as you go through life;

      And even when you find them,

   It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind,

      And look for the virtue behind them;

   For the cloudiest night has a hint of light

      Somewhere in its shadows hiding;

   It’s better by far to hunt for a star,

      Than the spots on the sun abiding.

   The current of life runs ever away

      To the bosom of God’s great ocean.

   Don’t set your force ’gainst the river’s course,

      And think to alter its motion.

   Don’t waste a curse on the universe,

      Remember, it lived before you;

   Don’t butt at the storm with your puny form,

      But bend and let it go o’er you.

   The world will never adjust itself

      To suit your whims to the letter,

   Some things must go wrong your whole life long,

      And the sooner you know it the better.

   It is folly to fight with the Infinite,

      And go under at last in the wrestle.

   The wiser man shapes into God’s plan,

      As water shapes into a vessel.

                                         by Ella Wheeler Wilcox