“The Journey” by Mary Oliver
posted February 23rd, 2007 at 11:56 am by Betty
I chanced upon this poem in my reading today. I am sending it your way for your meditation.
“The Journey” by Mary Oliver (found in Ten Poems to Change Your life, by Roger Housden, (New York: Harmony Books, 2001),9-10
“One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
‘Mend my life!’
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life that you could save.”
Tags:
spirituality
mary magdalene
episcopal
interfaith
religion
culture
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3 Responses to ““The Journey” by Mary Oliver”
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February 23rd, 2007 at 3:49 pm
The hardest thing I have ever done in my life was to walk away from a relationship in which the other person expected me to “mend my (his) life.” Sometimes I was sure I wouldn’t make it down the stormy, stony road…but eventually, those stars did come through the clouds and I heard that new voice. Faint, at first, to be sure, but it grew stronger and stronger.
Now, I can’t be shut up!
Bridgitt
February 25th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
The phrase ‘Mend my life!’ hits it right on the head. I have found that people with even minorly messed up lives tend to have a lot of advice for other folks (and me). I’ve also found that when I acquiesce to their wishes for my life, they feel better about themselves. Took me a long time to realize something was off with that. It should not have been them feeling better about themselves, but about me feeling better about myself. They were supposed to be giving me advice to help ME!!! Ha! What a gyp! But, I am woman and I accepted the ruse. Since I sprang from my mother’s womb, I have been bombarded with the message that my feminine destiny is to be all about others. I come second or not at all. Too bad for those others that I’ve finally realized what a bucket of crock that is (was). There are still times when that ancient force pulls me in. But those times are few and far between. My own voice is giving me advice nowadays. I like what I have to say ; )
March 1st, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Wanda,
I love the way you write. It’s so descriptive and fun to read. I especially like the idea of calling those cultural messages an “ancient force” - one that takes much effort to counteract.
Sounds like you have acquired insight that may take most of us a hundred or more years to get. Sounds like you know what it means to have inner freedom and spiritual elevation from within.
Hope to hear from you again.