Everything Hangs by a Tenuous Thread

Everything hangs by a tenuous thread.

Don't be vain or unrealistic.

Such is existence: it comes and goes.

That's being honest and NOT pessimistic.

 

Abandon a false sense of security.

Throw off thoughts of invincibility.

Does knowing that things are beyond your control

Dare to threaten your fragile tranquility?

 

Fiery summers can parch the earth;

We are vulnerable in bitter cold winters.

Although our home seems strong and solid,

A tornado can leave our "fortress" in splinters.

 

Rising waters inundate the land.

When that happens, we grow less smug.

As hard as we try to control nature's flooding,

We can't simply pull a bathtub plug.

 

Our firm foundation seems indestructible;

Efforts to make us safe are painstaking.

Nevertheless, notice how helpless

All of us are when the ground starts shaking.

 

Timeless time is tightly tied

Inextricably to being.

Such interconnectedness

Ought to be consoling and freeing.

 

What about resilience? you ask.

Life has a resilient bent

That helps us deal with challenges

And face what we can't circumvent.

 

You know the saying, the old cliché:

Here today; gone tomorrow.

Our attitude will determine whether

Our life is full of happiness or sorrow.

 

Live each moment, love others,

Learn constantly, and plan ahead.

Just remember that ultimately,

Everything hangs by a tenuous thread.

 

(1-2-16)