I turn to the words of poets again and again for inspiration and strength. The great ones have left a trail of breadcrumbs that we can decode. David Whyte is one of my all time favorites. In the poem below he speaks to deciphering “What’s next”?
Start Close In
Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first thing
close in,
the step you don’t want to take.
Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own way of starting the conversation.
Start with your own question,
give up on other people’s questions,
don’t let them smother something simple.
To find another’s voice,
follow your own voice,
wait until that voice
becomes a private ear listening to another.
Start right now take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow someone else’s heroics,
be humble and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake that other for your own.
-David Whyte
http://www.davidwhyte.com
What’s the small step, close in that I choose to take right now? Take a deep breath, take the support of your full being and step forward, my friend.
