Where is meaning, then?
Not in the long run
That no one sees;
Not in the short
With food to find;
Where is meaning, then
When prayer proves
So much whining
Into thin air?
Where is meaning, then?
And we can say
The failure lies here
And there, or is no
Failure at all, and on;
Yet what was it but
Whining into thin air?
What was it but loss?
Where is the meaning, then?
Shall we call it the
Cruelty of the universe?
Shall we call it the
Cruelty of our demands?
Where is the meaning, then?
Or shall we chalk it up
To both and call it our lot?
Where is the meaning then?
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Where is meaning, then?
And we can say
The failure lies here
And there, or is no
Failure at all, and on;
Yet what was it but
Whining into thin air?
What was it but loss?
May the Great Mystery have mercy upon us optimists. We do annoy some people.
But failures can either be viewed as crippling or a sometimes rugged path to learning the big life lessons. Sometimes, with a little help from every possible and improbable direction, we can even come to regard those who have caused us pain as our teachers. Sometimes I do sincerely wish God would put down the 2” x 4” and just send me an email suggestion. And even I thoroughly dislike that old saw, “That which doesn’t kill us, will make us stronger.”
But learning life lessons feels so positive – even almost worthwhile, compared to seeing ourselves as crippled and maimed by our failures. We aren’t random targets for the bi-monthly Target Practice of the Gods. Not really. But some of us do have to stumble and fall before we notice the potholes in life.
So where whining prayers make us feel pathetic about ourselves, prayers of gratitude actually make us – me, at least – feel more powerful and ultimately in control of my destiny.
Of course, I’d still rather learn by email.
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