The poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote
what is required of us
is that we love the difficult
and learn to deal with it.
In the difficult are
the friendly forces, the hands that work on us.
Right in the difficult
we have our joys,
our happiness,
our dreams;
there against the depth of this background,
they stand out,
there for the first time we see
how beautiful they are."
Although I consider myself a cheerful person, and have been accused of even being a Pollyanna, I have often succumbed to a "woe is me" attitude. And in the last dozen or so years, fallen under the weight of the sadness of the world. Most of it to do with injustice and untimely death. I have found Rilke's thoughtful words to be a great comfort, for happiness is as much a fact of life as sadness, and only in holding the two up together do we see each clearly. It does not do to stop yourself from small and large moments of joy - better to accept the delight that you may perceive them standing out in relief from the difficult.
We have had snow all week, and I have heard complaints and cheers. Yes it's difficult to get around, but did you throw a snowball, or even pause a moment to admire the world transformed? I always try to turn things around in my mind when I start to feel negative - it's a good exercise, and tremendously difficult sometimes, but it helps me keep putting one foot in front of the other some days. Just a tiny thing, like a leaf gently resting on snow, is enough.
what is required of us
is that we love the difficult
and learn to deal with it.
In the difficult are
the friendly forces, the hands that work on us.
Right in the difficult
we have our joys,
our happiness,
our dreams;
there against the depth of this background,
they stand out,
there for the first time we see
how beautiful they are."
Although I consider myself a cheerful person, and have been accused of even being a Pollyanna, I have often succumbed to a "woe is me" attitude. And in the last dozen or so years, fallen under the weight of the sadness of the world. Most of it to do with injustice and untimely death. I have found Rilke's thoughtful words to be a great comfort, for happiness is as much a fact of life as sadness, and only in holding the two up together do we see each clearly. It does not do to stop yourself from small and large moments of joy - better to accept the delight that you may perceive them standing out in relief from the difficult.
We have had snow all week, and I have heard complaints and cheers. Yes it's difficult to get around, but did you throw a snowball, or even pause a moment to admire the world transformed? I always try to turn things around in my mind when I start to feel negative - it's a good exercise, and tremendously difficult sometimes, but it helps me keep putting one foot in front of the other some days. Just a tiny thing, like a leaf gently resting on snow, is enough.
posted by glamourgirl at 7:09 AM
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