Oh. Right.
A lesson from birds on the fun of being in an endless mystery
I used to lie awake at night demanding answers from the ceiling fan.
Where did I come from?
Why am I here?
What happens next?
The rude fan never said anything useful. I took it very personally ~ though to be fair, nobody else has ever answered those questions for me the way I need them to be.
Then one evening I watched some birds clamber through the trees a block from my rental home and the whole argument just… stopped.
I hope you are doing okay wherever you are right now!
It drives me crazy
that I don’t know
where I came from.
I don’t remember my first spark.
I don’t know why I’m here.
I’ll never know or understand
any of this for certain.
It’s all a mystery.
~It’s absolutely maddening.
But when I watch birds
move through the trees at sunset,
I never understand their songs,
yet I still find it all so lovely.
Oh.
Right.
Quit trying
to solve life.
Just enjoy it.
One more thing before you go:
If this poem landed somewhere in you and you want to go deeper — I’m co-facilitating a three week online writing series starting May 13th called Heart Write Soul with my collaborator Michelle Francois-Walsh.
It’s not a craft workshop. It’s a space to explore what’s actually living inside you and find the words for it. We meet on Zoom — May 13, 20, and 27 from 2:00 to 3:30pm.
Space is almost full. If you feel the pull come find us here:
For any other writing events (in person or online) please follow this link:
I seem to be here to hurt, rejoice, excel, fail, trip and fall, learn to fly while on the ground, imagine, be confused, write, read, try again and again, love - always love, fight for another, fight for myself, no matter what - get up after I fall, always get up - even if I’m bloodied and bruised - literally or figuratively - get up - take a step forward - you can do it - … keep it up, another step …
John Roedel
I’m over the moon sliding down the sand dune, jumping on pontoons, sailing away too soon into the Rapids of Rangoon but those 300 miles feel like a breeze because of You -
xx