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"A thousand mornings" by Mary Oliver

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall —
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do. – Mary Oliver

Breathe.

In order to further motivate myself and fix my focus on finding the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel with this Ph.D., I have started counting down to my due date (that sounded like a due date for day of birth). I have a couple of major milestones left still and like some pregnant women, sometimes I wish I could just skip over the tough bits and fast forward to the moment where I can cradle my baby in my arms. Alas, life doesn’t work that way.

I’ve always surrendered myself to Mary Oliver’s poetry and find that I emerge lighter and renewed. One of my favorites from this collection is the one above. Someone said, it’s like a colossal exhale from the lungs of the world. Breathe.

Perspective.

There is some relief in remembering that you are a drop in the ocean. Still, in its smallness, the drop matters.

Pay attention.

Breathe.