Worthwhile

It is easy enough to be pleasant, when life flows by like a song
But the man worthwhile is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong.
For the test of the heart is trouble and it always comes with the years
And the smile that is worth the praise of the earth is the smile that shines through the tears.
It is easy enough to be prudent when nothing tempts you to stray.
When without or within no voice of sin is living your soul away.
But it is only a negative virtue until it is tried by fire.
And the life that is worth the honor on earth is the one that resists desire.
By the cynic the sad and the fallen, who had no strength for the strife
The worlds highway is cumbered today they make up the sum of life.
But the virtue that conquers passion and the sorrow that hides in a smile
It is these that are worth the homage on earth
Because we find them but once in a while.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I remember reading this poem in high school and I forgot how much I really enjoy the great literary authors of the past! This is a great reminder of how important it is to have a good attitude in times of trial.