Eleanor Lerman, winner of the 2006 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, is known for writing poems that feel relatable and almost familiar. Reviews for this poem range from realistic but gloomy, to fierce and honest. We think it is chillingly beautiful and think you will too.

First line: This is what life does. Last line: And then life sends you back to bed, to dreamland, while outside, the starfish drift through the channel, with smiles on their starry faces as they head out to deep water, to the far and boundless sea…

Holstee, originally founded as a t-shirt company in 2009, is most well-known for their motivational business manifesto. Written by the founders as a way to solidify their personal and business values, this Manifesto has been likened to Nike’s Just Do It, but better.

First line: This is your Life. Last line: Life is short. Live your dreams and share your passion…

Might be our favorite reading. Not kidding.

First line: There was once a man who stood before God, his heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. Last line: God responded, “I did, I sent you.”…

Lighten up and your journey will become clear to you. That’s what this reading is all about. Nice advice if you are chill enough to hear it.

First line: It is so tempting to want the answers before we begin the journey. Last line: Over time, a picture starts to emerge by which we begin to understand our place in the world…

This is a sweet call and response reading about intention.

First line: Where there is hatred, may we bring love. Last line: Make this a better world and begin with us…

Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” An old Jewish tale has a sweet similar message.

First line: When Hayyim of Zanz was a young man, he set about trying to reform his country from its evil ways. Last line: So he spent the rest of his life perfecting his own soul…

Okay, being that we get furious when UBER says it’s still 2 minutes away, it’s sobering to remember that Anne Frank wrote this while she was hiding from Nazis.

First line: How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world! Last line: And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness…

Rainer Maria Rilke published his first collection of poems in 1898. He was known for his sensitivity and openness, and often received letters from young people in need of connection or hope. The advice to be patient with ourselves and to live our lives in the moment is still entirely relevant today.

First line: Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Last line: Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer…

Yes, this is by the Maimonides. He died in 1204 and was one of the greatest Jewish scholars of all time. He’s also known for this quote, “You should listen to the truth, whoever may have said it.” Good, right?

First line: Do not imagine that character is determined at birth. Last line: We, ourselves, by our own volition, choose our own way…

OMG…love this totally relatable reading about taking one step at a time. And if you are so inclined, follow Anne Lamott on Instagram too. She’s a funny one.

First line: Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had 3 months to write. Last line: Just take it bird by bird.”…

Okay, so maybe not as good as Imagine, but still…John Lennon sure had a way with words.

First line: There are two basic motivating forces, fear and love. Last line: Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life…

It’s not easy being a Jew.

First line: To open eyes when others close them. Last line: And further, to live when others are dead and to remember when others have forgotten…