Time, Intentions, and Pivoting
Some light topics
So...how is your December going? I hope I didn’t bring the mood down too much with last week’s post. Let me make up for it by doing something a little different this week. I am going to take you through my favorite poem. We will then discuss and analyze its meaning and hopefully bring a little inspiration to your day. Obviously, I can’t hear your reactions or thoughts to this poem (you’re right, I should start streaming or something). However, I do feel like this poem is:
Super relatable
Beautifully written
Thought provoking
Actually, I have the last line of this poem tattooed on my left wrist. I wonder what the author would think of that. This is Loss and Gain by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
When I compare
What I have lost with what I have gained,
What I have missed with what attained,
Little room do I find for pride.
I am aware
How many days have been idly spent;
How like an arrow the good intent
Has fallen short or been turned aside.
But who shall dare
To measure loss and gain in this wise?
Defeat may be victory in disguise;
The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide. Woo! That is some good stuff. It is so healing to revisit this poem. I don’t know about you, but reading those words feels like drinking a cool, refreshing glass of water. Whenever I hit a low point, whenever I feel that I have fallen short, or whenever I feel like I have failed - this poem comes to my mind. The second stanza hits especially close to home. How many days have been idly spent I believe that we, collectively, have an issue with Time. We are wasting our time, we are running out of time. The constant hustle and bustle of our society tells us that we have to make every day productive. We have to squeeze the productivity out of every day or else it is a “waste”. We are getting older, life is too short, how dare you relax! This is my interpretation of this line as someone who's sworn enemy is Time.
Then, the next two lines: How like an arrow the good intent Has fallen short or been turned aside. We have good intentions. We try our best. Sometimes life intervenes and that is out of our control. So here we are, wasting our days and watching our good intentions fall short. How defeating, right? But who shall dare to measure our losses and our gains? Who are we comparing ourselves to? What is the rubric for success, but a tired, man-made system? Pump the brakes. The last two lines of this poem bring me so much comfort and I am sharing it with you in hopes that it also brings you the same feeling. Defeat may be victory in disguise We have to slow down. We cannot assume that what is happening to us isn’t for our greatest good. I don’t know about you, but I have had a rough year. Defeat has seemed to be the theme for me. But defeat isn’t the end, it is only a pivot that life throws at us so that we can be guided towards something better. When a door closes, it closes for a reason. Better doors cannot open if we do not allow space for them to. Over and over, we will look back on our difficult times and see exactly why they had to happen. When we reach our lows, the only direction to move in is up. Now, this doesn’t make all of the difficulties go away, but you would be surprised at how much a mindset shift can affect our circumstances. Let's turn the word "defeat" into "pivot". The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide
Let’s take a look at this imagery here. The great ocean ebbs and flows. It is a beautiful, visual example of how our lives work. You may be in low water, or at a low point, but you won’t always stay there. In fact, you can have hope and know that those low ebbs won’t last. Nature doesn’t allow that to happen. Your fortune will turn and it will be revealed to you in due time. Patience, patience, patience.
That last line means a lot to me and I find myself looking at my tattoo whenever life gets tough. Time and time again, it has proven true that the bad times don’t last and good times (or our victories) are right around the corner. In the midst of writing this post, I came across a quote on Instagram. It said: "Embrace your old life falling apart. That is the only way a new life will start." I thought that was very fitting for our discussion, especially as this year is coming to a close and a new chapter is beginning in just a couple of weeks. I hope that this poem has brought meaning to your day and can remind you to keep moving forward! Just because things don’t seem to be working out for you right now doesn’t mean that they aren’t working in the background. Every step you take is a step forward and we cannot compare our paths to others. Imagine writing a piece like Loss and Gain in 1882 and then some artsy California girl gets it tattooed on her wrist because it helps her get through her day. Absolutely insane. Is there a lyric, a poem, a verse, a line from a book, or any piece of literature that helps you throughout the day? Maybe you won’t get it tattooed, but how about printing and framing it? Make it the background on your phone. Put that inspiration somewhere near you so that you can be reminded that everything is going to be okay. As always, thank you for reading. I hope this adds a little something extra to your day. Remember, The only rules are the ones you write! xx Caitlin Sheek
