The Journey

You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life –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 that 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
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

Posted by | Paul Reynolds

“Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. Not any religion or cultural system…..” - Rumi

For over 30 years Paul Reynolds has collected and shared inspiration from a wide variety of sources. Embracing the philosophy that at the core of all these expressions is the reminder that we are loved and supported every moment. This unending stream of inspiration, imagination and wisdom is posted via his weekly ‘Living the Question Blog’, which has become ‘home’ for those discoveries. If you would like to receive the readings and share them with those you feel will benefit, please fill out the ‘Subscribe’ form to the right and Paul’s selections will come to your email every Friday.

Comments are closed.