Credenda

This is a two page letter that was given to me by my sponsor when I got sober back in 1998. My instructions were to read it at the start of every day. I am not sure who the original author was. It could be a collection of thoughts from various sources. By re-posting it, I am in no way trying to take credit for this work. I would give credit if I had any idea where credit was due. In it's entirety I believe that the message is powerful. I am copying it 'exactly' as it was presented to me:

Credenda

Turn away from the crowd and its fruitless pursuit of fame and gold. Never look back as you close your door to the sorry tumult of greed and ambition. Wipe away your tears of failure and misfortune. Lay aside your heavy load and rest until your heart is still. Be at peace. For your earthly life, at best, is only the blink of an eye between two eternities...
Be unafraid. Nothing here can harm you except yourself. Do that which you dread, and cherish those victories with pride. Concentrate your energy. To be everywhere is to be nowhere. Guard your time carefully, since it is your greatest treasure. Reconsider your goals. Before you set your heart too much on anything, examine how happy they are who already possess what you desire. Love your family and count your blessings. Reflect on how eagerly they would be sought if you did not have them. Put aside your impossible dreams and complete the task at hand no matter how distasteful. All great achievements came from working and waiting. Be patient. God's delays are never God's denials. Hold on. Hold on fast. Know that your paymaster is always near. What you sow, good or evil, that you will reap. Never blame your condition on others. You are what you are through your choice alone. Learn to live with honest poverty, if you must... and turn to more important matters than transporting gold to your grave. Never meet trouble half way. Anxiety is the rust of life; when you add tomorrow's burdens to today's their weight is unbearable. Avoid the mourner's bench and give thanks, instead for your defeats. You would not receive them if you did not need them.
Always learn from others. He who teaches himself has a fool for a master. Be careful. Do not overload your conscience. Conduct your life as if it were spent in an arena full of tattlers...
Avoid boasting. If you see anything in you that puffs you with pride, look closer and you will find more than enough to make you humble. Be wise. Realize that all people are not created equal, for there is no equality in nature, yet no person was ever born whose work was not born with them (This may come across as very insensitive to some and taken out of context would most probably be. Remember that this is an actual letter written to me by my sponsor at a time when my biggest questions were 'Why did this happen to me?' and 'Why do bad things keep happening to me?'). Work every day as if it were your first, yet tenderly treat the lives you touch as if they will end at midnight...
Love everyone, even those who deny you, for hate is a luxury you cannot afford. Seek out those in need. Learn that he who delivers with one hand will always gather with two. Be of good cheer. Above all, remember that very little is needed to make a happy life... Look up. Reach out. Cling to God and journey quietly on your pathway to forever with charity and a smile. When you depart to eternity it will be said by all that your legacy was a better world than the one you found.

With Love,
Frank