While we had a great summer break, I am ready for this summer to fade. It has been loud and hard and overwhelming– the world seems bent on turning itself inside out.
A friend recently wrote a piece about returning to nature to find solace when the world seems to be spinning out of control. Her meditation on the ocean reminded me of the question Whitman asked and answered in a section of Leaves of Grass, and his words encouraged me:
Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
~Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1892
Hard to believe he was describing his own world in the 1800’s and not modern day America. My friends, we are still here and the powerful play goes on. Let’s contribute a verse that makes a difference for years to come– that we will be remembered for our compassion and fierce grace.