Life has loveliness to sell, All beautiful and splendid things, Blue waves whitened on a cliff, Soaring fire that sways and sings, And children’s faces looking up Holding wonder like a cup. Life has loveliness to sell, Music like a curve of gold, Scent of pine trees in the rain, Eyes that love you, arms that hold, And for your spirit’s still delight, Holy thoughts that star the night. Spend all you have for loveliness, Buy it and never count the cost; For one singing hour of peace Count many a year of strife well lost, And for a breath of ecstasy Give all you have been, or could be. - A poem by Sara Teasdale A CLASSIC definition of worthy life! -- one must say. Life of loveliness, of charm, of a personal appeal, of an appeal gleaned from true good things life offers -- blue waves, soaring fire that sways, children holding wonder like a cup, music like a curve of gold, scent of pine, holy thoughts that star the night ...! If one absorbs these delights, if one gets consumed by these fine nuances of living, if one takes a plunge into this delightful pool of small things that make up a big count together, then one assumes certain appeal -- for self and for others. And this appeal is beyond blemish. Simple. Pure. Bright -- but never gaudy. Soothing! -- one must say.

 

The poetess does not mean selling when she says Life has loveliness to sell ...!; She means to suggest ‘offer’. Yes life has on offer All beautiful and splendid things ...! Unfortunately, however, we often lose sight of all those. We look at life as a drag and that makes us cynics. And in that condition, we learn to count the price we must pay for everything, but we miss the value of all that wonderful offering of life. And chip by chip, bit by bit, we lose a lot of loveliness life has on offer. To such cynics, Sara Teasdale says, Spend all you have for loveliness, Buy it and never count the cost ... You have a lot to pay to buy the loveliness off life’s shelves.

 

You have your craving for ecstasy, your eagerness to sway and sing life fire, your childlike ability to hold wonder like a cup. So, dear friend, says the poetess, ... For one singing hour of peace Count many a year of strife well lost, And for a breath of ecstasy Give all you have been, or could be. Look at the wonderful expression -- For one singing hour of peace ...! What a terrific gain! Then, never mind many a year of strife well lost ... ! For, the final gain is a breath of ecstasy ...! That ecstasy, that bliss, that unblemished sense of eternal laughter, that feel of inner delight -- and all the things that lend you liveliness -- is priceless. To gain it, to attain it -- and also to retain it for life -- no price is big enough. And dear friend, don’t give anything; give yourself -- for all you have been ...! Oh! Yes! Give yourself totally to attain that loveliness with everlasting appeal, charm, magnetic attraction that sums up the virtue. But dear friend, there is something more you can offer -- whatever you could be. Simple. The message is: My dear, do not keep anything in spare. Give your whole -- whatever you have, and whatever you could be at its sublime best and sublime most.