I live my life in widening circles

I live my life in widening circles

Feb 19, 2022

Sometimes you hear a turn of phrase, a small piece wisdom that just reaches right to your core. That is how I felt this week when I heard the Joanna Macy translation of a Rilke poem.

"I live my live in widening circles

that reach out across the world

I may not complete this last one

but I give myself to it"

These lines almost stopped me in my tracks. They seemed to bring sense to this feeling of stuckness that I (and most of us) have experienced over the last few years. I don't feel as though I have moved at all. Yet, when I look closely, there is a depth of insight and wisdom that has arisen only through the immensity of what I have experienced over this period of life. I may have been stuck here, my feet firmly rooted, but I have not been stagnant. There has been growth. There has been transformation. There has been insight and wisdom. Perhaps that is what it means to widen the circles of our lives. Perhaps we will be still in one spot for a long time, but that stillness will eventually widen the circle of our lives.

You can read the rest of the poem here

You can listen to the wonderful podcast interview with the translator Joanna Macy, an environmentalist, activist, writer and translator here

After listening to that interview titled Work that Reconnects on The One Your Feed, I am very much inspired to read through Joanna's many books. And it does remind me that I have been meaning to read Rilke's works for many years now. Every time I come into contact with his poems, I am at awe with the wisdom and insight. They really speak to the heart of my human experience. I hope you find some comfort and inspirations these words today too.

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