Why Worry?

I found a wonderful Mary Oliver poem today on another Yoga teacher's blog, First Sip. Claudia Cummins is a yoga teacher in Ohio and wrote the "For Beginners" column in Yoga Journal for many years. I have enjoyed her articles and incorporated several of her suggestions into my teaching. I'd like to share this poem here as my first blog!

Worry

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not, how shall
I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

~ Mary Oliver