Anyway

Simple. It was one of the words I heard used often during a recent weekend spent with old friends from high school.

“Those were simple times.”

“We had simple goals.”

“I simply loved that moment in my life.”

As my friends and I reminisced about Friday night football games, Sunday morning church, family dinners, and pre-teen campouts, we marveled that we had lived through a golden age—a time when life was good and uncomplicated—and simple.

Lines were clean. Rules were enforced. Neighborhoods were safe. We were blessed.

This experience made me think of a poem that was found written on the wall of Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Calcutta. Though the Sister didn’t write the original poem, it has been closely tied to her for many years. It has borne two different titles: Anyway and A Simple Path. Anyway… here it is:

“People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;

LOVE THEM ANYWAY
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

DO GOOD ANYWAY
If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies;

SUCCEED ANYWAY
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow;

DO IT ANYWAY
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable;

BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY
What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight;

BUILD ANYWAY
People really need help but may attack you if you help them;

HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY
Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth;

GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY.”

©1968, 2015 Kent M. Keith

An addition to the poem, presumably added by Mother Teresa says,

“You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them…ANYWAY.”

P.S. Martina McBride sings a great song based on this poem.

P.S.S. The most spoken word by far last weekend was Y’ALL.