If you can handle one more Shel Silverstein poem, this one struck me between the eyes...
WOULDA-COULDA-SHOULDA
All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin' in the sun,
Talkin' 'bout the things
They would-coulda-shoulda done...
But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All ran away and hid
From one little did.
Man, have I been stuck. Better yet, PARALYZED. Analyzing everything that has happened, scrutinizing every word spoken, every look cast, every thought attributed...And all the while, I have been frozen in neutral, unable to move out and move on.
So it's time.
I am re-reading 'Cloister Walk' for our book club and I came upon a passage that really struck me...
'..an important aspect of monastic life has been described as "attentive waiting." A spark is struck; an event inscribed with a message -- this is important, pay attention -- and we wait attentively, EXPECTING God to show us what we need to see...'
So, here I am, waiting attentively, trying to kick the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas from my path! I'll close with Psalm 62:5... 'Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from HIM!'
Grace and Peace
2 comments:
I have lots of woulda coulda shoulda ness in my life that needs to go. I want to be someone who does! In fact just tonight I have been crying about some things I should have done.
A wise friend of mine who umpires softball games gave me some good advice about this kind of stuff. He told me, "Micah, do the next right thing." For him, he learned that if he made a bad call in a game, he had to focus on the next play and making a good call or his whole game could spiral out of control. It has been helpful to me instead of trying to fix the whole big problem to simply try and do the next thing right and let the big picture sort itself out.
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