A line from one of my favorite poems, Love at First Sight by Wislawa Szymborska (which I met through Roger Housden's Ten Poems to Change Your Life) says "Every beginning is, after all, nothing but a sequel / and the book of events is always open in the middle."
The book of events is always open in the middle. I've been thinking about that idea often during the past few months. It's been a change-filled time. Several groups I meet with regularly, including my writers' group, have gone on hiatus because members have dropped out or have been unable to attend. My workplace will begin a large-scale reorganization soon, which will bring many changes. And that's just the beginning.
It helps somewhat to keep an open-in-the-middle picture in my mind. Even when a colleague or friend leaves a group or collaborative effort, it's not The End. It doesn't mean we'll never see each other again or that I'll never feel her/his presence in my life. After all, if we worked together for 10+ years, we're bound to have a lasting influence on each other. And there's always a chance that I'll meet new friends, fellow writers and musicians in the future.
Keeping the book open won't make certain leave-takings or dissolvings less disappointing but it may help us through those arid in-between times when it feels like we're not connected and nothing's happening. It can help us remember that the past will always have valuable
gifts in it, and the future always holds creative possibilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment