#MicroPoetry|May ’19 Reflections

Goals are indeed important. Often, they are used as the gauges by which we might recognise and measure success. Though the doing is important, staying committed to the path in the midst of trials and struggles is just as important. Where failure might distract, perseverance is a value that often buoys us when we stumble. It may not be pretty as to how a goal is reached, but without tenacity, then the effort may never realise the aspiration.

Happiness – one of those words often found on saccharine cards or advertisements that sell the illusion of something soul-informing yet often leave us with a sugar-high fading from any depth attained. There is a paradox in recognising the need for ‘no’ in order to attain happiness. This is not an easy task, but it is a discipline that often leads to the possibility to awaken to being more fully human.

How do you understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
What stories do you have that illustrate those distinctions?
These are important reflective questions for all of us. Whether we are leaders in our homes or workplaces, formal or informal, knowing how we know and what we know are important to ground us. This grounded place, ultimately, allows us to listen and hear great things and challenging things. In the hearing, choices are revealed that allow us to help not only ourselves, but one another.

I have been reflecting about the dance between those who sustain and those who consume. Though they are not necessarily in opposition to one another, too much of the latter will certainly lead to the improbability of being able to nurture the former. I believe, from a faith position, if we have to choose one – or preference – then it must always be sustainability. This verse endeavours to explore what happens when balance is lost and endeavours to suggest how that might be attained.
What do you think of when you hear sustainability and consumption in conversation with one another?

Courage: it’s a virtue that is often associated with times of conflict, violence and war. It is often framed in a manner that seems superhuman and can leave us with a sense of inadequacy, perhaps even failure.
What might it mean, therefore, if we understood it as a way of being in the world, even in the midst of doubt of fear?
What might it mean to consider that, as a virtue, sometimes it is experienced in an intuitive moment?
What might it mean that when we think we should run, we end up standing in the midst of the maelstrom?

Turn on the TV, watch your social media feed or listen to the radio and it seems like its easy to realise goals and dreams. It feels like it takes little time and since time is often framed as a commodity, faster and easier is something we think can be transactional and purchased. The reality is that it usually takes time, commitment and resilience to not only reach the finish line, but to savour each inch it takes to get there.
What is your experience of taking the time to do something well?

One virtue that I do not often see discussed, but would be grateful to see more often highlighted, is resolve. It is one of those intentions without which the best ideas and most imaginative dreams will not become actual gifts shared with the world. This verse attempts to explore resolve in a manner that encourages its nurture and adoption to help us birth that which we are called to share.

Often motivational mantras use the metaphor of a summit to inspire. Often the images hold in balance challenge and success, failure and learning. This is indeed a helpful metaphor to inspire us to embrace the possibilities before us. Yet it is easy to get caught in the metaphor as simply a one-time linear success. It has been my experience, however, that sees each success as just one small step toward something grander, something more sublime, something I would call awakening. When seen as a journey then each summit gained reveals larger, more complex and – ultimately – a deeper beauty that propels us toward epiphany.