If wishes worked like magic,
And plans worked that way too,
And everything you wished for,
Whether good or bad for you,
Immediately was granted
With no effort on your part,
You’d experience no fulfillment
Of your spirit or your heart.

For things achieved too easily
Lose their charm and meaning too,
For it is life’s difficulties
And the trials we go through
That makes us strong in spirit
And endow us with the will
To surmount the insurmountable
And to climb the highest hill.

So wish not for the easy way
To win your heart’s desire,
For the joy’s in overcoming
And withstanding flood and fire,
For to triumph over trouble
And grow stronger with defeat
Is to win the kind of victory
That will make your life complete.

Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981)
www.HelenSteinerRice.com