The power of this short poem by Constantine Cavafy is just unbelievable. This poem guides me.

The Satrapy – Constantine Cavafy

Too bad that, cut out as you are for grand and noble acts,
this unfair fate of yours never helps you out,
always prevents your success; that cheap habits
get in your way, pettiness, or indifference.

And how terrible the day you give in
(the day you let go and give in)
and take the road for Susa to find King Artaxerxes,
who, propitiously, gives you a place at his court
and offers you satrapies and things like that —
things you don’t want at all, though, in despair,
you accept them just the same.

You’re longing for something else, aching for other things:
praise from the Demos and the Sophists,
that hard-won, that priceless acclaim —
the Agora, the Theatre, the Crowns of Laurel.

You can’t get any of these from Artaxerxes,
you’ll never find any of these in
the satrapy, and without them,
what kind of life will you live?

My comments (talking to myself basically)

Dear Friend,

Don’t waste the gift of life that’s been given to you running after the ephemeral, superficial and flashy things.

You know what your heart is longing for and if you’re chasing other things because it’s easier or everybody else is doing so, that’s too bad.

Too bad for you, too bad for me, too bad for everyone. Because if you’re giving up on your purpose, you lose, I lose, we all lose!

And if you say that your purpose might take years or forever, let me tell you this. Life is much longer than you think and you will live to see your hard word give fruits, plenty of fruits, fruits which you will taste, I will taste, we will all taste.

Guys, please read this beautiful short poem, the Satrapy, by Constantine Cavafy, one of the most important figures of the Greek and Western poetry.

This poem is talking exactly about that, about being honest to one’s value, purpose and those hard-won noble things that your heart is longing for.