Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so.
All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.
Be ignited, or be gone.
~ Mary Oliver, “What I Have Learned So Far” from New and Selected Poems Vol. 2
Sources:
- Poem – Thank you Beth at Alive on All Channels
- Photograph: luci d’inferno with apri le luci e mira (“open light and aims”)
Live & Learn 
perfection.
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Reflect that light onto the world, and maybe we can cause a cascading effect!
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Yes!
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“Be ignited or gone.” Love her work 🙏🏻
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She Is so great….
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We started out with a Garden of Eden. We were suppose to tend it, keep it beautiful. We have missed the point. :o)
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Totally!
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As that old saw says, ‘If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem….’
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I beg to differ. Meditation is labor. And creating compassion and balance in oneself ripples out into the world.
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Yet, she states the same in: “and yet commit
to no labor in its cause?”
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I am poetry-challenged sometimes.
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You skimmed it once, I read it 10x to “get it”
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No, really, I read it over and over. It’s amazing how our filters interpret for us (okay, that’s an excuse for “poetry-challenged”).
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Funny you quote Mary Oliver – I just received Vol I and II in this morning’s mail. Love her!
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“quote” her. Not exactly. I paint this blog with her poetry.
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Yes, good description.
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beautiful
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