“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
What a most poignant question the extraordinary Mary Oliver asked in her poem ´One Summer day.`
Often in our lives, we will find ourselves questioning what we spend our time doing and who we spend our time with. Everyday life can be busy, all consuming, and leaving few moments to stop and ask ourselves what are we doing with this one wild and precious life of ours.
Maybe you have it all figured out, and know exactly what the answer is to Mary Oliver`s thought provoking questions. Perhaps you are now on a path which feels right, which gives meaning, and which gives great joy. Maybe this ia a question a friend needs to hear right now? A question that she or he has not dared to ask themselves, but needs to hear. I just asked my 87th year old Aunt in Dublin and am looking forward to hearing her response. She may dream of what she would have done, as I know she grew up in a time when survival from day to day and bringing up a family was the most important thing. A time when there was not a lot of other choices for her.
Sometimes, we might just ask ourselves this question, and that is enough. Let the question open up some space in your life that you thought was not there. Perhaps you feel you are going down a narrow road which only goes one way.
There are always other ways. You might just need to walk a bit further along your road. A lot of us cannot answer this questions right now. Not having answers can feel extraordinary uncomfortable. If we dare to dwell in that open space of possibilities that we haven´t even imagined yet, some thoughts, some magic might slowly emerge.
Asking big questions is taxing on our brains! I love philosophizing on these bigger questions in life, but I make sure I do small things too that give me joy at the same time. One of my sources of joy is finding the sea, and going for a wee swim. This photo is from one of those moments. When my daughter accompanied me and took a photo of me as I was on my way into the sea. I often swim alone, but I love it when one of my daughters joins me and waits for me from the shore. There is something very comforting as I go into the vast sea that someone who I love and who loves me is waiting for me on the sandy earth on my return.
Now, tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
