Let Them Soar Or Fall

Gillian Welch / David Rawlings: Wayside (Back in Time)

How sweet it would be
to treat men and things,
for an hour,
for just what they are!
When we are
weary with travel,
we lay down our load
and rest by the wayside.
So, when we are weary
with the burden of life,
why do we not lay down
this load of falsehoods
which we have volunteered
to sustain,
and be refreshed
as never mortal was?

Let the beautiful laws prevail.
Let us not weary ourselves
by resisting them.
When we would rest our bodies
we cease to support them;
we recline on
the lap of the earth.
So, when we would
rest our spirits,
we must recline
on the Great Spirit.
Let things alone;
let them weigh
what they will;
let them soar of fall.

--Henry David Thoreau
Letters to a Spiritual Seeker