I enjoy looking for poems and quotes that lift my spirits and inspire me. I found this poem by Elodie Armstrong online a few weeks ago and decided to share it with you.
I think if we could put these into practise the world would be a far more peaceful and wonderful place.
For me, my favourite commandment from this poem is-“Thou shalt not cross bridges before you get to them” This is great as it reminds me to be present and stop over thinking about the future and possible problems.
I hope you enjoy reading the poem….
Elodie Armstrong- Ten Commandments
Thou shalt not worry,
for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
Thou shalt not be fearful,
for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
Thou shalt not cross bridges before you get to them,
for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
Thou shalt face each problem as it comes,
you can handle only one at a time anyway.
Thou shalt not take problems to bed with you
for they make very poor bedfellows.
Thou shalt not borrow other people’s problems,
they can take better care of them than you can.
Thou shalt not try to relive yesterday
for good or ill, it is gone
concentrate on what is happening in your life today.
Thou shalt count thy blessings,
never overlooking the small ones
for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.
Thou shalt be a good listener,
for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own,
it’s very hard to learn something new when you’re talking.
Thou shalt not become bogged down by frustration,
for ninety percent of it is rooted in self-pity
and it will only interfere with positive action.
Elodie Armstrong
