So How Do We Best Spend Our Days?

abandoned

If the following thoughts seem out of context, simply scroll back to "Hello from the Dark Woods" and you will see they are a response from a reader, David Shearer.  It seemed to me his reflections were far more articulate than the post that precipitated them, and I wanted to make sure they didn't get overlooked.  So once again, David is a sort of accidental guest blogger:

Dark woods and tangled paths indeed.  The world is more dark and dangerous than we allow ourselves to believe.  But it's simultaneously beautiful and forgiving.  It must be, for our species to have gotten as far as it has without being added to the growing list of ancient fossils that fill the geologic layers of time.  Our egos insist that the daily drama which consumes us  is of the utmost importance to the universe, when in fact it's far more likely our presence in the cosmos has largely gone unnoticed.

Still, here we are, struggling every day to find our place in the grand scheme of things.  And what seems to set us apart from our brethren sentient beings is our heightened awareness of our predicament.  Or is it perhaps that we set ourselves "apart" in the first place?  Better, I think, to spend less time trying to understand and control our lives, and more time wrapped in the awe and mystery of the world.  I suspect the answers we seek would overwhelm us in this life anyway, and are better left to be revealed in their own time.

So how do we best spend our days?   I wish I knew, but I don't.  But what feels right to me is to give thanks to whatever gods may be when the sun greets you in the morning, to be loving of your fellow creatures,  to earn your bread daily, to clean up after yourself, and to go sleep each night with no enmity in your heart.

"With all it's sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."  from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, 1927