In an article on Medium, Jason McBride writes about the transformative change he made in his life: replacing his habit of consuming self-help content with reading and contemplating poetry. All the typical self-help content, McBride writes, can be reduced to the quest for happiness: "We want to be thinner, healthier, and better at this or that skill because we think that will finally make us happier. We want to make friends and influence people because happy people have friends. You probably feel like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle and are searching for the missing piece that is a perfect fit to complete you. But … happiness is not a destination. [Happiness] comes from living in the present moment and having healthy connections to other flawed people." McBride finds poets to be better life guides, offering the deep wisdom of those who practice paying close attention to what matters. He regularly meditates on Mary Oliver’s question in her poem “The Summer Day,” “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Psalm 1 sets the tone for the Bible’s book of poetry, insisting that “happiness” and “delight” come to those who meditate on God’s Word. “Happiness” to the psalmist cannot be equated with a consumer-driven mindset, material comforts, or five-easy-steps self-help. Rather, the psalmist understands happiness as dwelling in the presence of God. With Scripture as our guide, happiness can be found in these words so full of sacred wisdom and meaning that we can meditate on them, day and night, and they will continually bear fruit, revealing new truths. In Walking Light, poet Stephen Dunn reflects on why poetry fails to lure readers in the United States. “Our capitalist culture privileges acquisition over contemplation, the celebration of things more than matters of the soul. People are hungry for meaning in their lives, in need of poetry, yet unaware of it.” This is the way of the “wicked” in Psalm 1, which, in my opinion, is a harsh way to describe those who are groundless and directionless, easily blown about like “chaff” in the wind: Harsh because I often find myself in this “wicked” class. We can all recognize times in our lives when we felt unrooted, blown about by every trend, lacking substance and sustenance, quickly clicking the “Buy Now” button for the book that will solve our procrastination problem, the wrinkle cream promising to return us to our 20s, the containers that will magically organize our closets and feng shui our life. ...
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2024 Advent Resources Advent Candle Litanies “Hope: The First Sunday of Advent” “Peace: The Second Sunday of Advent” “Joy: The Third Sunda...
