A change in the wind

A few months ago I was sitting in a class and one of the staff members read a poem she had written. Not only did the words move me, but it re-awakened my love of poetry. The most interesting part is that this poem was not part of the agenda, and this wasn’t a writing classic, or even some other type of art class. This awakened something inside of me. I’ve never been a prolific poetry writer, but I did write a handful of poems in college. It is a part of my life I had forgotten about.

Recently, there was some bad news in my community that created quite a bit of distress. I’m not going to dive into details on the specific event that happened, but instead cover some of the realizations that came to me in the aftermath.

As a writer it is very easy to exercise control. I choose when are where chapters start and end. Real life is not like that. Real life tends to revolve around the unexpected rearing its ugly had and turning everything upside down. But there is always a silver lining. Always.

By finding the silver linings in life we grow as people. We become more understanding. We become more thankful. We gain perspective. Sometimes our faith is shaken. “Am I going down the right path?” we ask ourselves. This isn’t always clear — especially not in the moment.

For the first time in nearly 15 years, I wrote a poem.

Sometimes the world is turned upside down

Sometimes this is an illusion

Sometimes life fragments into chaos

Sometimes chaos is order

Sometimes we are hindered in our quest for righteousness

Sometimes what is right cannot be done

Sometimes the path in front of us is a labyrinth

Sometimes our eyes are open but we cannot see

Sometimes a gift appears in front of us

Sometimes what we feel must not be

Sometimes what has always been still is

Sometimes the soul’s tug is relentless

In life there is always time

The end of a chapter can be very scary, especially when it happens suddenly. But the good news is, a new chapter always starts.

Ryan