“It is easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows by like a song,
But the man worth while is one who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (from The Man Worthwhile)

Isn’t it funny sometimes that we use quotes and sayings alot of our lives and don’t know where they come from. Sometimes I think we subconsciously think they’ve been around forever!

Such was the case for me with Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 – 1919). I have known and used quotes from her poetry all my life. Indeed as I read one in particular, I could hear my own Mothers voice as she so often used this quote to help  cheer me up when needed. I’m sure you have heard this quote yourself, it’s taken from one of Ella’s poems called ”Solitude“:

”Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone,
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.”

After doing a bit of research on the internet I found many other poetic gems by Ella which inspire deeply. The following quote is on San Francisco’s Jack Kerouac Alley.

The following poem particularly inspired me. Take a few moments to reflect and really feel the meaning behind her words.

Whatever Is – Is Best

 I know as my life grows older
And mine eyes have clearer sight –
That under each rank wrong, somewhere
There lies the root of Right;
That each sorrow has its purpose,
By the sorrowing oft unguessed,
But as sure as the sun brings morning,
Whatever is – is best.

I know that each sinful action,
As sure as the night brings shade,
Is somewhere, some time punished,
Tho’ the hour be long delayed.
I know that the soul is aided
Sometimes by the heart’s unrest,
And to grow means often to suffer –
But whatever is – is best.

I know there are no errors,
In the great Eternal plan,
And all things work together
For the final good of man.
And I know when my soul speeds onward
In its grand Eternal quest,
I shall say as I look back earthward,
Whatever is – is best.

To finish my tribute to Ella Wheeler Wilcox here’s a wonderful video with music of all her poem “Solitude”.