What I Have Learned So Far

In a poem of exquisite force, Mary Oliver makes the case that our relationship to the world around us must not simply be one of passivity or even prayerful observation, but one of reverent action--perhaps even explosive action. This is what she has learned--so far.

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside, looking into the shining world?
Because, properly attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit to no labor in its cause?
I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning.
All effect has a story.
All kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance.
The gospel of light is the crossroads of--indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.
--Mary Oliver