Herold, Don -- Essay (1931-12), “I’d Pick More Daisies,” College Humor magazine, Vol. 10, No. 96

Dave — Fri, 29 May 2020 21:05:45 +0000

If I had my life to live over, I would try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would be crazier. I would be less hygienic. I would take more chances. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would burn up more gasoline. I would eat more ice cream and less bran. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones.

Don Herold (1889-1966) American humorist, cartoonist, author
Essay (1931-12), “I’d Pick More Daisies,” College Humor magazine, Vol. 10, No. 96
(Source)

Also attributed to Nadine Stair, and a Brother Jerome, among others. This essay has gone through a variety of revisions and homages, both by Herold and by a variety of borrowers. The earliest reference I could find was that cited here, as quoted in The Journal of Health and Physical Education (1935-05) [linked above].

The usual citation is to a revised version of the essay by Herold in "If I Had My Life Over -- I'd Pick More Daisies," Reader's Digest (1953-10) (and reprinted in Reader's Digest's How to Live with Life (1965).

Benjamin Rossen, "Who Would Pick More Daisies; A study of Plagiarism and Foolery on the Internet" (2000) wrote extensively on the variations and misappropriations of the poem (though he did not know of the 1935 version). See also: Essay Origin: I Would Pick More Daisies – Quote Investigator®, which includes a nice thank-you to WIST regarding this quotation. The page includes further research into and examples of the various versions of this quote, but concurs on the December 1921 original date. Interestingly, it is likely the actual publication date (not the date on the magazine) was in October, as at least one newspaper article dated 3 November 1921 references it.

Rilke, Rainer Maria -- Letters to a Young Poet, Letter 8, 12 Aug 1904 (1929)

Dave — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 13:23:08 +0000

We have no reason to harbor any mistrust against our world, for it is not against us. If it has terrors, they are our terrors; if it has abysses, these abysses belong to us; if there are dangers, we must try to love them. And if only we arrange our life in accordance with the principle which tells us that we must always trust in the difficult, then what now appears to us as the most alien will become our most intimate and trusted experience. How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1963) German poet
Letters to a Young Poet, Letter 8, 12 Aug 1904 (1929)
(Source)

WIST Quotations

Herold, Don -- Essay (1931-12), “I’d Pick More Daisies,” College Humor magazine, Vol. 10, No. 96

Rilke, Rainer Maria -- Letters to a Young Poet, Letter 8, 12 Aug 1904 (1929)