For our lives to matter we must believe we are people of value in a culture of meaning. These two elements determine your thread. You can control the first. The second may sometimes be difficult. That is when you discover the importance of the thread. Background
by Sam Hitt:
'William Stafford’s journey with words began most mornings before sunrise. This simple poem was written 26 days before he passed. The day before he wrote “Haycutters” and four days later on August 6, 1993 he wrote “November” in honor of Hiroshima Day.
One of his students, the poet Naomi Shihab Nye, wrote, “In our time there has been no poet who revived human hearts and spirits more convincingly than William Stafford. There has been no one who gave more courage to a journey with words, and silence, and an awakened life.” '
One of his students, the poet Naomi Shihab Nye, wrote, “In our time there has been no poet who revived human hearts and spirits more convincingly than William Stafford. There has been no one who gave more courage to a journey with words, and silence, and an awakened life.” '
The Way It Is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
By William Stafford, from The Way It Is, 1998
I use my concept of guardian angel, above, instead of words, to describe my thread. I carry it in my coat pocket.
If it is difficult to identify a single thread that holds your life together keep trying. Find one that, more than anything else, helps you see yourself as a person of value in a culture of meaning.
-Erie Chapman
Photograph, (c) "Guardian Angel" 2019, by Erie Chapman
Note: This poem was posted in a previous essay and is re-posted here in a rearranged presentation due to the life changing nature it offers.
Journal of Sacred Work 
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