the story isn't finished

And I said to him

Are there answers to all of this?

And he said

The answer is in a story

And the story is being told

And I said

But there is so much pain

And she answered, plainly

Pain will happen

Then I said

Will I ever find meaning?

And they said

You will find meaning

Where you give meaning

The answer is in the story

And the story isn’t finished

                     Padraig O’Tuma, readings from the book of exile, p.4

                     Canterbury Press

_________________________________________

Life is messy

A bad novel, poorly

Or so it seems

Written

The history of the world

Is a story

Of greed and hate

Resentment and retribution

And we plod on

Characters in this story

That teaches us,

If nothing else

That the one thing we learn from history

Is that we do not learn

Mistake follows mistake

And we wander down the same paths

Into the same swamp

Into the same abyss

Over and over

And we wonder

“How do I respond”

What do I do with, this?

This mess

We look to the skies

We look to Father/Mother God

And we offer our complaints

And we pose our questions

Why do the evil flourish?

Why is there so much sickness?

Why am I here?

What is the meaning of life?

And He/She answers

This is your story

Make of it what you will

Keep moving

Left foot, right foot

Left foot, breathe

Don’t so much look for meaning

As create it

Listen

Look

Feel

Have empathy

Be the answer

Feed the hungry

Heal the sick

House the homeless

Care for the ill

Comfort the afflicted

Vote for justice

Fight for equity

This is your story

This is your life

Don’t keep looking back, fearful

Don’t keep peeking, seeking to see (and control)

What is ahead

Just press on

Strain toward what is ahead

Toward the upward call

The answer is in the living

The answer is in the story

And the story isn’t finished