Two Musings on Life

Today when I went to open up my budget, I became briefly distracted by another folder on my computer. It lead me to another folder which lead me to another folder that I had entitled "Motivation." In this Motivation folder I've kept a number of bits of writing and so forth that I have found around the web, or were sent to me by friends, that have inspired me in one way or another. One of the items was called "Poem." Before I opened it, I knew it had to be from my friend Catie, as she is a lover of poetry. I was right, I had saved it back in 2004 on her birthday. After reading it again, I decided I would post the poem here and share it with all of you.

Shortly after enjoying the poem, I also stumbled on (by way of Budgets are Sexy) The Wisdom Journal's hilariously true article, I Survived But Just Barely. While technically neither of these are about finance, they are both about life. One made me laugh and one made me smile - and both reminded me to live life fearlessly...

When Death Comes
By: Mary Oliver

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

Photo by: mcarrth