What I Have Learned So Far

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of - indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

~ Mary Oliver, from New and Selected Poems

I continue to be taught at the knee of this grand dame of poetry. Mary Oliver has been writing since she was 14! Born in 1935, Oliver is one of America's best-loved poets, having won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, along with many other prestigious awards.  What I love about her is the way she combines nature and deep heart-felt truths. She is able to draw into the reader's depths to find both joy and grief, suffering and jubilation.

Here is reminds us that sitting is just one part of meditation. The gospel of light is indeed "the crossroads of indolence or action."