Think On These Things
The thoughts we choose each day quietly shape our attitude, our actions, and the direction our lives take.
Give careful thought to what fills your mind, for what you think today often becomes how you live tomorrow.
Updated December 27, 2025, by Catherine Pulsifer
Life moves quickly, and it is easy to let thoughts drift without noticing where they lead. These poems invite you to slow down and think on things that truly matter. They touch on choices, time, kindness, courage, and personal growth. As you read, allow the words to settle in your heart and guide your thinking in a positive direction. When we take time to reflect, we often gain clarity, renewed purpose, and a better outlook for the days ahead.
Think Right
Think smiles, and smiles shall be;
Think doubt, and hope will flee.
Think love, and love will grow;
Think hate, and hate you'll know.
Think good, and good is here.
Think vice — its claws appear!
Think joy, and joy ne'er ends;
Think gloom, and dusk descends.
Think faith, and faith's at hand;
Think ill — it stalks the land.
Think peace, sublime and sweet,
And you that peace will meet.
Think fear, with brooding mind.
And failure's close behind.
Think this: "I'm going to win!'
Think not on what has been.
Think vict 'ry— think ''I can!"
Then you're a WINNING MAN!
Opportunities
There's nothing so sad as the sadness that comes
when we think of the chance we've lost -
The big opportunities we have let slide -
and discovered too late, to our cost.
We might have done this, and we might have done that-
idle words, for they haven't the power,
to bring back again opportunities lost -
or restore to us one little hour. . .
Yes, it's useless to think of the things that we've missed;
there is only one thing left to do -
Make the most of each moment and take what it gives -
disappointment and happiness too.
And if Fate knocks you down with a shattering blow -
it may be your big chance in disguise -
If you stand up and meet it with courage and faith,
looking onward with bright, fearless eyes . . .
Wishing
I wish - that friends were always true,
And motives always pure;
I wish the good were not so few,
I wish the bad were fewer;
I wish that parsons ne'er forgot
To heed their pious teaching;
I wish that practising was not
So different from preaching!
Things Left Undone
It isn't the thing you do,
It's the thing you leave undone,
Which gives you a bitter heartache
At the setting of the sun.
The stone you might have lifted
Out of a brother's way.
The bit of heartsome counsel
You were too hurried to say,
The loving touch of the hand.
The gentle and winsome tone
For which you had no time nor thought,
With troubles enough of your own.
The Moments You Spend
One task at a time without worry or fear;
One day at a time though the morrow draws near;
One deed well accomplished suffices the day;
Start not many missions, take time out to play.
You can't borrow sunlight from night's open door;
One task and one day is enough to explore.
Make every hour count in the moments you spend —
Tomorrow's a stranger; Today is a friend.
Two And One
Two ears and only one mouth have you;
The reason, I think, is clear:
It teaches, my child, that it will not do
To talk about all you hear.
Two eyes and only one mouth have you;
The reason of this must be,
That you should learn that it will not do
To talk about all you see.
Two hands and only one mouth have you;
And it is worth while repeating:
The two are for work you will have to do —
The one is enough for eating.
The Minutes
We are but minutes — little things,
Each one furnished with sixty wings,
With which we fly on our unseen track,
And not a minute ever comes back.
We are but minutes — yet each one bears
A little burden of joys and cares.
Patiently take the minutes of pain —
The worst of minutes cannot remain.
We are but minutes — when we bring
A few of the drops from pleasure's spring,
Taste their sweetness while we stay —
It takes but a minute to fly away.
We are but minutes — use us well,
For how we are used we must one day tell;
Who uses minutes has hours to use —
Who loses minutes whole years must lose.
Reflection
I did pretty well with that trouble I had,
That trouble that frightened me so:
Now it's over I've a right to feel glad
That I didn't give in to a blow.
For a while it appeared that I couldn't succeed,
I was tempted to give up the fight.
But now that it's over I'm happy indeed
To think that I came out all right.
I nearly gave up when the thing looked so bad,
I had almost decided to quit:
I'm surprised at myself at the courage I had,
And I'm glad that I had so much grit.
When the next trouble comes I shall stand up and fight
And meet it the best I can;
I've reached the conclusion that trouble's all right,
It brings out the stuff in a man.
Thoughts Are Things
God gave us the gift to think,
How are you using that gift?
Are you thinking good or bad?
Remember you are the man you think.
Do your thoughts control your body.
Or your body control your mind?
Are your thoughts of others good.
And are your thoughts of others kind?
It's the helm that turns the rudder,
It's the helm of brotherhood.
Are you doing deeds that injure?
Are you doing deeds of good?
Every thought has its reflector,
That reflects the man you are,
Every act has its reaction.
They may make or they may mar.
Who is standing as your Tiler?
Who commands your thoughts and deeds?
Is your life producing flowers?
Or a mass of stifling weeds?
You are the man that controls yourself.
Master your thoughts they master all.
When you learn to command your thoughts you have won.
And remember that thoughts are things.
Whittlings
The worst eye trouble is the "I" trouble.
The sure sign of the little man is the bighead.
Most anarchists are made before they are nine years old.
The modern church prefers a live wire to an inflated tire.
Oftentimes a cheerful "hello" is the best dispeller of tearful woe.
Six syllabled words are too often the exhaust of a one cylinder man.
The newest thing in some churches would be a sermon on the old gospel.
Too many parents are sticklers for obedience - in other people's children.
Nature gives every man two cheeks but never meant for any man to be all cheek.
Life's greatest tragedy is a man with a 10 x 12 intellect and a 2 X 4 soul.
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Conclusion
We hope these poems have encouraged you to pause and think about things in a new way. Sometimes a poem can spark a thought we had not considered before. Keeping an open mind allows us to learn from the words of others while staying true to our own values. When we take time to reflect, we often gain clarity, understanding, and a better outlook for the days ahead.
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