Get inspired by short A Life Well Lived Poems to live a good life. If our experience of yesterday is bad, don’t waste your today’s happiness by thinking of them. Go ahead and enjoy the little happy moments. We’ve put together some beautiful Poems and Quotes About A Life Well Lived that will help you move forward and inspire.
Table of Contents
A Life Well Lived
by Emerson
The purpose of life
is not to be happy.
It is to be useful,
to be honorable,
to be compassionate,
to have it make some
difference that you have
lived and lived well.
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Well Lived
by Anonymous
A life well lived is a precious gift
Of hope and strength and grace,
From someone who has made our world
A brighter, better place
It’s filled with moments, sweet and sad
With smiles and sometimes tears,
With friendships formed and good times shared
And laughter through the years.
A life well lived is a legacy
Of joy and pride and pleasure,
A living, lasting memory
Our grateful hearts will treasure.
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I Am Not For Everyone
— Sylvester McNutt III
I am not for everyone.
I know my truth,
I know who I am,
I know what I do and
do not bring to the table.
I’m not easy to deal with
but I do bring tons of value.
I bring love and strength,
but I am not perfect,
and if I don’t fit in
with a person or group
that is okay with me.
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Build On Resolve
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul’s light shine on the path of hope.
And dissipate the darkness. Waste no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years.
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile to see
The fair, white pages that remain for thee.
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Our Worth
– Howard Carleton Tripp
I hold that all of life is used
In summing up what we are worth,
As all the elements are fused
To make this mighty earth.
Not one great act, nor golden deed,
One glowing speech that was sublime,
Shall be the only thing we’ll need
To stand the wear of time.
Both love and hate shall be as all.
Both doubt and faith – all deeds on earth,
The greatest things, as well as small,
Shall show our royal worth.
Yea, all we’ve ever left undone.
And all we ever do shall be
The test where Heaven’s crown is won.
And what God’s eyes shall see.
****—-****—-****
Act Simple
— William Henry Channing
To live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion,
to be worthy, not respectable,
and wealthy, not rich;
to study hard, think quietly,
talk gently, act frankly,
to listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages,
with open heart,
to bear all cheerfully,
to all bravely await occasions,
hurry never.
In a word, to let the spiritual unbidden
and unconscious grow up through the common.
This is to be my symphony.
****—-****—-****
I’m Strong
― William Martin
Do not ask your children,
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
****—-****—-****
Think Positive
— Rebecca Puig
Remember when you go into the world to
keep your eyes and ears wide open.
And be kind.
Love one another.
Take care of each other.
Tell the truth.
Always do your best.
Listen to the big people and the little people.
Explore new paths and have fun.
Know that you are loved like crazy.
Give thanks for all your blessings.
Above all else,
Love and you will do
wonderful things in this world.
****—-****—-****
Today
– Douglas Malloch
Sure, this world is full of trouble ,
I ain’t said it ain’t.
Lord! I’ve had enough an’ double
Reason for complaint;
Rain an’ storm have come to fret me,
Skies are often gray;
Thorns an’ brambles have beset me
On the road – but say,
Ain’t it fine today?
What’s the use of always weepin’,
Makin’ trouble last?
What’s the use of always keepin’
Thinkin’ of the past?
Each must have his tribulation –
Water with his wine;
Life, it ain’t no celebration,
Trouble? – I’ve had mine –
But today is fine!
It’s today that I am livin’,
Not a month ago.
Havin’; losin’; takin’; givin’;
As time wills it so.
Yesterday a cloud of sorrow
Fell across the way;
It may rain again tomorrow,
It may rain – but say,
Ain’t it fine today?
****—-****—-****
Reaching For Rainbows
– Collin McCarty
If we don’t ever take chances,
we won’t reach the rainbows.
If we don’t ever search,
we’ll never be able to find.
If we don’t attempt to get over
our doubts and fears,
we’ll never discover how wonderful
it is to live without them.
If we don’t go beyond difficulty,
we won’t grow any stronger.
If we don’t keep our dreams alive,
we won’t have our dreams any longer.
But. . .
if we can take a chance now and then,
seek and search, discover and dream,
grow and go through each day
with the knowledge that
we can only take as much as we can give,
and we can only get as much out of life
as we allow ourselves to live. . .
Then. . .
we can be truly happy.
We can realize a dream or two along the way,
and we can make a habit of
reaching out for rainbows
and coloring our lives
with wonderful days.
****—-****—-****
Promise Yourself
– Christy Larson
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to everyone you meet.
To make everyone you know feel that
there is something good in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best,
and expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to
greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and
give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that
you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble in your mind.
****—-****—-****
Heads, Hearts, And Hands
– George W. Bungay
Heads that think and hearts that feel,
Hands that turn the busy wheel,
Make our life worth living here,
In this mundane hemisphere:
Heads to plan what hearts shall do,
Hearts to bear us bravely through
Thinking head and toiling hand
Are the masters of the land.
When a thought becomes a thing,
Busy hands make hammers ring
Until honest work has wrought
Into shape the thinker’s thought;
Which will aid to civilize,
And make nations great and wise,
Lifting to a lofty height
In this age of thought and light.
Miracles of science show
With their light the way to go;
Touch a tube of gas, and light
Blossoms like the stars of night;
Touch another tube, and lo!
Streams of crystal waters flow;
Touch a telegraphic wire,
And your thought has wings of fire.
Hail to honest hearts and hands,
And to the head that understands;
Hands that dare to truth subscribe,
Hands that never touched a bribe;
Hearts that hate a deed unjust,
Hearts that other hearts can trust;
Heads that plan for others’ weal,
Heads poised over hearts that feel.
****—-****—-****
He Lived A Life
– H. N. Fifer
What was his creed?
I do not know his creed, I only know
That here below, he walked the common road
And lifted many a load, lightened the task,
Brightened the day for others toiling on a weary way:
This, his only need; I do not know his creed.
What was his creed? I never heard him speak
Of visions rapturous, of Alpine peak
Of doctrine, dogma, new or old;
But this I know, he was forever bold
To stand alone, to face the challenge of each day.
His creed? I care not what his creed;
Enough that never yielded he to greed,
But served a brother in his daily need;
Plucked many a thorn and planted many a flower;
Glorified the service of each hour;
Had faith in God, himself, and fellow men
Perchance he never thought in terms of creed,
I only know he lived a life, in deed!
****—-****—-****
The New Creed
– Edgar Allen Moss
I will start anew this morning’ with a higher, fairer creed.
I will quit this fool complaining of my neighbor’s greed;
I will cease to sit repining while my duty’s call is clear.
I will waste no moment whining, and my heart shall know no fear
I will look sometimes about me for the things that merit praise,
I will search for hidden beauties that elude the grumbler’s gaze;
I will try to find contentment in the path that I must tread,
I will cease to have resentment when another moves ahead.
I will not be swayed by envy when my rival’s strength is shown,
I will not deny his merit, but I’ll try to prove my own;
I will try to see the beauty spread before me rain or shine;
I will cease to preach your duty, and be more content with mine.
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