Walt Whitman once said, “I believe a leaf of grass is no less the journeywork of the stars.”

 

I once looked at this statement only in the context of beauty, of finding the complex in the seemingly mundane. To notice how the shades and variations in my cup of coffee are as interwoven as the clouds in the sky.

The poetry, however, may not be just a simple recommendation for how we look at objects. Hidden in it’s subtle suggestions is a more complete way to look at the situations we face in life.

Just as the simple can be complex in the object world, so too can the mundane be the “journeywork of the stars” in the interpersonal world.

A simple task can be the meditation of the most enlightened Buddha, you.

A challenging situation thrust upon us can be the marathon we are trying to complete. It simply needs tape on the finish line.

All too often we wait for opportunities for personal growth in the external events. The weekend retreat to the cabin in the woods or the physical challenge we signed up for in a sporting event.

But, if Whitman’s suggestion is correct, it’s not the cabin in the woods we need. Rather, it is the courage to see opportunities for meditation, growth, and personal achievement, in the simple events life has in front of us, today.