making a friend of failure

Resist much, obey little.

Walt Whitman

Yesterday, while sipping good coffee, a friend told me that he felt like a failure in life, that he should have more at this age, a house, money. All the while he spoke, finches played on the patio, I could see that the crape myrtles were thriving, our planet turned, orbiting the sun with the other planets, and this entire solar system moved across the universe.

Just forgive yourself.

Yesterday? You can’t touch it.

Touch the earth instead.

James Lee Jobe

A dog Sunday, broken like the stalks of harvested wheat. 

No one is watching the remains of the field. 

In the country church, the book is lifted, 

And the word is spoken. 

People look for the truth the way a hawk looks for mice. 

Often, the truth is hidden; you know that already. 

The search might take a very long time. 

Failure can be your friend, it calls you every now and then. 

It is a dog Sunday, the harvest is over, 

The congregation is small, and the hawk is hungry. 

She flies low over the field, circling, again and again. 

Move along, neighbor, there is no truth to be found here. 

James Lee Jobe

BY THE FRONT DOOR

Rain through the morning
and in the long pool a toad singing
happiness old as water

W.S. Merwin

THE RIVER OF BEES 

W.S, Merwin 1927-2019

Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost. 

Helen Keller

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to buy me a coffee, the link is below. 

Thanks, James