Lightly into the Future (vol. 3, no. 4)

Here are a few things I’m sharing this month:

1. Question(s) I’m living with:

• “What does it mean that the earth is so beautiful? And what shall I do about it? What is the gift that I should bring to the world? What is the life that I should live?” – Mary Oliver (ht On-Being)

2. Quote I’m considering:

• “It’s dark because you’re trying too hard,” said Susila. “Dark because you want it to be light. Remember what you used to tell me when I was a little girl. ‘Lightly, child, lightly. You’ve got to learn to do everything lightly. Think lightly, act lightly, feel lightly. Yes, feel lightly, even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.’ I was so preposterously serious in those days, such a humorless little prig. Lightly, lightly—it was the best advice ever given me. Well, now I’m going to say the same thing to you, Lakshmi . . . Lightly, my darling, lightly…So throw away all your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly. Lightly, my darling. On tiptoes.” – Aldous Huxley from Island (I do not remember how this quote came to my attention – so I’ll ht the universe)

3. Poem I’m pondering:

Do you think that I know what I’m doing.
That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?
As much as a pen knows what it’s writing,
or the ball can guess where it’s going next.

– Rumi

4. Something inspiring:

• Write a letter to the future. Future Me will deliver it to you 1, 3 or 5 years later. Here’s a testimonial: “Today I got a letter from myself 3 years ago. Hindsight isn’t 20/20. I forgot the things I valued then that informed certain decisions. Reading the letter unleashed unexpected self-compassion.”

5. The blog’s still on hold as I write my Rewild School book. So, here’s more Rumi:

Drumsound rises on the air,
its throb, my heart.

A voice inside the beat says,
“I know you’re tired,
but come. This is the way.”

If you’re reading this newsletter for the first time, you can read previous issues here, view lists of poems, questions, quotes and songs I’ve shared before here, and subscribe here.

Thanks so much. And, have a great day! – shawn