A Musing on Life

What I have learned about life and suffering

Is that it isn't a straight path up the mountain

In which a person looks down and teaches

Everyone below him everything about life.

There are switchbacks and valleys and muddy pits

And rivers that must be studied for years in order to cross.

There are trails that others are called to

That you know nothing about.

You may teach your fellow companions a truth

Only to need them to teach you the exact same thing tomorrow.

You may find that one person knows about ropes

And the other about foraging and you need each other

And most of all you need the children:

The ones who seemingly have the least to offer.

They teach you what you most need to know:

What life is all about, to slow down,

To enjoy experimentation and discovery,

To laugh at the absurd.

You may get to the top of a knoll

Only to discover another mountain ahead.

You may find yourself completely flummoxed

By a task or truth you thought you had mastered years ago.

Don't worry. This is normal.

The simplest truths are the hardest to remember.

The wisest people are those

Who know they don't know everything.

And the strongest people are those

Who don't confuse arrogance with solidity.

The ones who endure are those who know their own limitations.

And the happiest people are those

Who don't take themselves too seriously.

Your strength and wisdom lies not in how much

You've accomplished or how far you've gone,

But in the integrity of your life:

How you rest and take time to notice the flowers on the path.

Let yourself feel grief and joy

So that your heart grows deeper and your desires grow bigger

Even though allowing yourself to feel can make the pain feel worse.

The truth of the journey is that no one knows when we will reach the end

Because life isn't a formula with universal rules.

We often say that to understand another,

We need to walk a mile in their shoes.

But sometimes, it is walking in our own shoes

That requires the most courage.

And the hardest task may be having empathy for ourselves.

Your path is your path and no one else's.

Comparison will steal your joy,

While acceptance allows you to take an honest look at what you can change.

So wherever you are on this journey,

Be humble

Be brave

And be kind to yourself and others.