Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
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.
This poem is in the public domain.
About W.H. Channing
William Henry Channing (1810 - 1884) was a clergyman, philosopher, poet and prolific journalist, contributing to a number of magazines such as the North American Review, The Dial and The Christian Examiner. Born in Boston, he graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1833 and served at Unitarian churches in New York, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and England before becoming Chaplain of the U.S. Congress. Channing also became a leader in a movement of Christian socialism, and was a strong supporter of women's rights (Susan B. Anthony was a member of his congregation in Rochester, New York). He married Julia Allen in 1836 and they had three children. In 1850, he was appointed to the National Women’s Rights Committee. Channing was also a close friend of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
