Thanks to Rebelle Society I just came across a marvelous poem by Mary Oliver called “Wild Geese.” It reminded me that I have again been placing too much emphasis on artificial requisites for what a successful life is “supposed” to look like. It’s time to come back to what I cherish, and learn that there’s nothing wrong with loving what I love. It’s time to let a larger world embrace me and offer a space for me, where I belong without question.
So, without further ado, here is Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver. Enjoy.
“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”
Do you have a quote that always seems to come find you exactly when you most need it? I’d love to hear about it, so please leave a comment!
Photo is one that I took this summer, on a walk early in the morning. I wasn’t expecting the bokeh balls from the dew, but I love the effect!
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