No Small Life for Me
Poet Mary Oliver says this: “I don’t want to live a small life.”
I think about this quote from time to time, for it troubles me if I let it. So, what am I doing and what can you do to live into your life in a large way?
I’m seventy-years-old now. I don’t have the physical endurance I had at 50. I sometimes need to sit down for a few minutes to give my muscles a chance to recover. Some might say I’m living a small life.
But wait … there’s more.
I can still think. I can use my brain power to write and produce podcasts. My fingers still glide over these computer keys, and I can still make some sense of my thoughts of hope and inspiration.
I could go into a remorseful state, I suppose, and think some horrible thoughts.
If you want a mechanic, don’t call me.
If you want a house painter, I’m not your man.
If you want a plumber, I’d probably do more damage than good.
So, if you want any if those skills, perhaps you’d say I’m living a small life.
However … catch me in my best stride as a writer. I think I can still put some words together to encourage you. That is no small thing, you know. There seems to be a lot of discouragement in this ‘ole world at the moment. Maybe we need lives large and in full color who can brighten our daily existence.
That is a good way to live large, if you ask me.
What can you do to live a large life? I’ll not speak for you, but allow your thoughts, your ideas and your gifts to rise to the occasion at hand.
Above all, remember this. The opposite of small isn’t necessarily large. Perhaps it is reframing this idea into “living a useful life”.
A USEFUL life. I like that.
This is my
morning reflection.
P Michael Biggs
Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration
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