William Stafford – The Way It Is (August 2, 1998)
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
Integration into your Life:
Once you have found yourself on a journey of healing, do you have faith in the thread that is unseen.
A faith in the circulation and movements of your natural, innate nature.
A faith that enables you to continue, despite the small bumps on the path.
Do you believe in something that is not visible?
Do you believe in the possibilities, right down to your bones?
Do you know it in your heart?
A thread that does not involve the control, cognition or volition of our everyday existence, but rather our connection to what is essential to our own healing pathway.
Integrating with all that life has in store for you.
One of my mentors, Michael Meade, reading the poem: