Become a poem!

This is what you shall do:
Love the earth and the sun and the animals;
despise riches, give alms to everyone who asks;
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others;
hate tyrants;
argue not concerning God;
have patience and indulgence toward the people.
... Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book;
dismiss what insults your very soul,
and your very flesh shall become a great poem.

~ Walt Whitman


Oh, if only Walt Whitman were alive, he could eat crackers in my bed any time!

There is wisdom in this poem, and joy, and acceptance. (I personally find these qualities very attractive in a man!)

I think the only thing that I would change about this poem is the very last word. I would replace "poem" with "psalm". A psalm is a poem, but it is also a prayer. I think it would be a wonderful thing to become the living embodiment of my own prayers.

Right now, I often do the very things I pray against. I am unkind when I desire compassion. I am impatient when I desire patience. I seek to be understood more than to understand....Well, you get the idea, right?

Right now, I am not "the living embodiment" of my own prayers; but I do aspire to be! Sometimes that is enough. For me at least, the simple act of desiring brings me one step closer to my own peace of spirit.

And one step closer to peace is definately enough for this battle-weary woman!