The Artist's Prayer

                                        
Keep us from pettiness; 
let us be large in thoughts, in words, in deeds.
Let us be done with faultfinding
and leave off self-seeking.
May we put away all pretenses
and meet each other face to face
without self-pity and without prejudice.
May we never be hasty in judgement
and always be generous.
Teach us to put into action our better impulses,
straightforward and unafraid.
Let us all take time for all things:
make us grow calm, serene and gentle.
Grant that we may realize
it is the little things that create differences;
 that in the big things of life we are as one.
And may we strive to touch and to know
the great common heart of us all.
 And, O Lord God, let us not forget to be kind.

 by Mary Stewart in 1904 Longmont, Colorado