Lately I've felt overwhelmed. The past year has been full of changes - we bought a house, raised a puppy, lost a kitten, left behind full time jobs with benefits and started a handful of part-time endeavors. I've struggled with knowing what I want to do with my life and with all there is to do just to keep up.
I lose perspective and can't figure out where to start - with the day-to-day stuff like laundry, dishes and paying bills, the creative stuff like coming up with crafts to hussle for health insurance, the work stuff (like always having to be there...), and the long-term homestead goals.
I came across this the other day, and it reminded me that sometimes things are less complicated than I think they are. This is what I should do.
This is what you should do:
Love the earth and sun and animals,
despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants,
argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people…
reexamine all you have been told in school or church or in any book,
dismiss what insults your very soul,
and your flesh shall become a great poem.
- Walt Whitman, excerpt from the preface to Leaves of Grass
I've always loved this line: "Dismiss what insults your very soul." Thanks for sharing. Life's transitions are tough, aren't they? They mess with our sense of who we are sometimes!
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Some very nice thoughts, but I do hang up a bit on the part about giving alms to all who ask. (I wonder if Whitman traveled outside the US much.) Anyway, you and Abe are doing a great job of making life work, so hang in there. It won't always feel this hard.
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