I love this world but not
for its answers. I love it
for its unbounded possibility, its
open-hearted vistas and ocean expanse, its bordered meetings
of rock and plant, the unexpected ways a sunset can dip and grace
an otherwise dull day; for
the surprise of sweet narcissus
emerging from late snow; hope
and optimism of cycles, turning,
predictability and surprise
of trust, not knowing
and faith.
I love this world, not for its answers
but questions that lead us forward
and in, that lead us to learn from
earth and star, the unique and cosmic;
to practice seeing gratitude grow into truth –
right relationship with all life.
I love this world for being alive.
For its challenge, comfort,
its steadfast presence.
Though it holds horrors
that never should have been borne,
that can drag us down, distort
and destroy; though it does
not always answer – yet
its inherent good lives.
And for this, fI love this world.
*with thanks to Mary Oliver, ‘Snowy Night’; an in-class fast-write from a girls’ circle that feels like a natural follow-on to Friday’s post.
sarahscapes 
This is not the first time that I’ve read one of your posts and felt that our hearts are very much in sync. Reading this was like shining a light into my own consciousness, seeing something with more clarity and refreshing my spirit. I am a person who loves to have answers, but the self-imposed demand for them can leave me frustrated and often anxious. Thank you for reconnecting me with the peace of openhearted creation, exploration, and wonder.
I am so pleased that it resonated with you, Josh. We all need reminding from time to time that life is about moving forward – no guarantees, no answers. As Rilke so eloquently put it in Letters to a Young Poet: “I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” – Rainer Maria Rilke, 1903
wonderful
Thanks so much!!