Tuesday's Poem

Expect Nothing

Expect nothing.  Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of need to plead
Then purge away the need.
Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wilder disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make it a parka
For your soul.
Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exits at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing.  Live frugally
On surprise.

~Alice Walker~

My creative muse seems to be taking a rest so I decided to coax her to wake up by reading poetry.  It’s so easy to find great poetry these days  simply by going to the internet – there are a plethora of poetry blogs out there.  Yesterday morning I read several wonderful poems on http://poetrymala.blogspot.com and this one by Alice Walker got me thinking about attachment – how often I attach myself to a certain outcome and by so doing set myself up for disappointment.  The truth is that we never really know what life has in store for us, so if we can let go of our limited expectations, we not only  increase our opportunities for growth, but are often pleasantly surprised with the outcome, even when it’s not the one we were going for.  For me, as always, it’s a lesson in trust and my willingness to let go, do my best, enjoy life and allow myself to be surprised.