High Ground

Day 3:

High Ground

The high ground is the only place to be.
Who wants to wallow willingly in thick mud
and tangled weeds, submerged deep
in the muck of life, mixed up with the dregs
of mediocrity and discord, overshadowing
any the semblance of goodness that can be ours,
if we but rise to higher ground?

Some say, it is okay to lie low,
keep out of reach of high places,
be your own self, find your own direction,
whatever that be, no matter the consequences.

Surely, it is just a bunch of sophistry slop
that cakes on Levi’s, boots, and our nice clothes,
hard to get off, especially the stench of it all.

It doesn’t make sense to stay low
to the ground, find ways to remain hidden
and muddle our way through the darkness,
while reeling and slinking
back into the mud and sludge,
thinking it’s the best place for us.

When kept low, by our choice
or adhering to the choices of others,
we cannot see beyond the edge of the bog
or beyond the thick browns
or the darkness that encase us.

There is no light in low and forbidding places.

Yet, when we climb to higher ground,
our eyes adjust to the light so much easier
because we are familiar with it,
understand it, and we feel brighter,
happier now that we can
fully see and do and feel things
we never thought possible.

It is this Light that beckons us,
invites us to come forward
out of the darkness of the low places
and take our rightful place on high ground,
giving us perspective of feeling
to always do better and becoming
what we are truly destined to become.

From the high ground, we finally understand
and readily accept that all these things
“shall give us experience and shall be for our good,”
now and forever more.