In my journey through mid-life transition, much of my spirituality has been to focus on integrity. I desperately yearn for my inner values and core spirit to be more fully integrated with what I present to others in the world. In this place of crossroads, the question becomes one of what I value for the second half of my life.
Finding joy in simply being who I am and singing the song of my heart, not in more achieving and accomplishing and getting somewhere, is what life is all about. What a fascinating movement of the soul.
I recently went to a luncheon and heard the following poem read, and it touched me in a deep place. It's from some 80 years ago but it is about being the man I'm called to be. I share it with you today.
It is called "The Man in the Glass" by Peter Dale Wimbrow, Jr.
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest
For he’s with you, clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
