saving lives

The Journey
Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems

source: Inward/outward

soul food

Here's some more thoughtful poetry that's been sitting with me for a while... 'cause it's good for the soul.
Mull over them, ruminate on them, sit, listen and enjoy.

Rumi
Too Full to Talk About

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase 'each other'
doesn't make any sense.

The Enlightened Heart, an Anthology of Sacred Poetry

Mary Oliver
Wild and Precious

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed,
how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

The Summer Day

As always, the pertinent poets come from inward/outward.

At Ease?

At Ease

Too lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days' worth of rice in my bag;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.

Ryokan, The Enlightened Heart, an Anthology of Sacred Poetry

Hmmm... what an enticing picture. Reminds me of the 'perfect plan' that Gus constructs in David James Duncan's The River Why - living in his self-sufficient little hermit cottage in the woods fishing for 8 hours a day. I often wish I was less driven and 'responsible' and ambitious and could just 'be'. Let the world take care of itself.
Some wise fellow at Quaker meeting in Canberra last week said this:

"The most dangerous people in the world are those who claim to know what is wrong with the world and how to fix it".

Hmm. I'm challenged by how to balance Ryokan and this wise Quakers' thoughts with the calling I seem to have that encourages me to change/save/enlighten myself/society/the world.
E B White seems to capture my struggle:

If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.

E B White, Planning the Day, Notes and Comment, the New Yorker

justice in the making

My theories of justice class has been going really well. Stimulating readings, and great discussion. We started class yesterday with this poem from Judy Chicago. We were talking about tradition, gender and religion as sources for theorising about justice. Marcia's term is 'leaning into justice' - it is a place we will never really arrive at, but we need to lean into it without quick reconciliation that hurries over the many differences and injustices. The poem has Isaiah-type languages, and is filled with seemingly irreconcilable opposites.

“Untitled Poem from ‘The Dinner Party’”
Judy Chicago

And then all that has divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind
And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another’s will
And then all will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many
And then all will share equally in the Earth’s abundance
And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
And then all will nourish the young
And then all will cherish life’s creatures
And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth
And then everywhere will be called Eden once again

As reprinted in Cries of the Spirit edited by Marilyn Sewell
Beacon Press (1991)

if I told you the truth about God...

If I told you the truth about God,
You might think I was an idiot.

If I lied to you about the beautiful One
You might parade me through the streets shouting,
“This guy is a genius!”

The world has its pants on backwards.
Most carry their values and knowledge in a jug
That has a big hole in it.

Thus having a clear grasp of the situation
If I am asked anything these days,
I just laugh!

Kabir (1440-1518)
In Love Poems to God, tr. Daniel Ladinsky

Thought I'd put up some poetry. I first read this poem at a youth pastors retreat with Barry. We had to meditate on it for 20 mins and come back with a question. I remember one of the questions was "what good is a jug without a hole?"
Good question.

One more idea to muse on (from Justin via Barry this time):
If grace abounds anyway, it doesn't matter who is right.