The Eternal Pendulum Swings of Life (Poem)

Around a spiral I go, on the way to perfecting my soul   Until I realize, the spiral’s purpose is

Around a spiral I go, on the way to perfecting my soul
  Until I realize, the spiral’s purpose is not as straightforward as I thought
      The reason for its rounded shape is not to take me to a perfect place
        But it is to create a form akin to the shape of a Question Mark

         Each round around, I realize I never get to The Answer
        Each round around, brings me more questions
       Each round around, I grow impatient
    Until each round around, I learn patience
Until each round around, I learn the value of mystery…

And yet, upon thinking I learned this lesson,
    I am still taken in for another round.
        I want to sigh and shout, “Enough, I had learned already!”
         But Life keeps bringing on its eternal pendulum swings
            As if to taunt me, saying, “But have you really learned?”

          I can feel like I am never learning, the rounds never-ending
        Until I saw that, so long as I am going around
       I am always learning, and always had been—
     Not in a way that scratches the itch of Knowing Truth
  Not in line with the stubborn narrow way of the Mind
With its love of finality and rewards…

Even when I tell myself I had learned this lesson,
   Another round of the spiral comes, and yet another—
      I never get my reward of peace at the end, it seems
         I will never know how my life truly comes together
           Or the real meaning of it
        No matter how eager I am to know
   Or how patient I become in not knowing…

  Another series of rounds of the spiral comes along,
But over time, I am becoming one with its continuous Swing
 By breathing slowly, in and out, upon each round,
   Navigating that little bit of the present I have control over
     Directing it like a point of a needle in creating a tapestry of a lifetime,
      While letting go of the rest—

        Which means letting go
        of any Answers, any straight lines to a final point,
         of having to have a better, more peaceful future
        Where I can finally feel at home
       And I can notice, by doing this,
     How in the moment I feel a little better
   That I can find a little peace
And discover a little Home within.

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Leon Tsao

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TEDx Speaker, Mental Health Youtuber & writer, Psychotherapist, & Life Coach. My clients are diverse in needs, though I often work with clients with difficulties with self-esteem, confidence, and interaction with others.

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