IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS by Ruth Calder Murphy

Sometimes, it can feel as though Everything is too big to grasp or handle…

That either, Everything is so weighed down with significance that I can’t even begin to enter into it - that if I try to explore it, I’ll be banging my head, at each corner, on religious beliefs and academic theories, none of which consistently correlate with each other or my own experiences… Or, that significance is a misnomer; that there is no significance other than that which I create for myself and that I am so tiny - so insignificant - that I might as well not bother at all.

When these feelings become unbearable, or even just tiresome, I try to look at the Blips. Things that happen that make life wonderful and beautiful, regardless of all the huge things, or all the tiny things, all the unknowables and the arguments - things like morning coffee, good books, smiles, birdsong…

Sometimes, what gets me through isn’t a constant stream of marvelous epiphanies, or deep reflections or profound discoveries. Sometimes, what gets me through - and what connects me to other people, too - are the Blips… And you know what? That’s allowed.

Waiting: "Moonlight and Blossoms" by Ruth Calder Murphy

In the Scheme of Things

by Ruth Calder Murphy

Sometimes, things are so big

- the stars so distant,

the night so dark,

the seasons so inevitable

and the questions so infinite -

that they spin away,

out of focus,

leaving tiny things behind.

(Things like bread and wine

and nursery rhymes

and having a night light on, on the landing.)

Sometimes, things are so impossibly big,

it’s only the tiny things that remain

- quiet sighs,

little pains,

pulling oneself up by the bootstraps,

sanity retained (though frayed) against the odds  -

and the fact that insignificant blips (in the Bigger Picture)

make all the difference to my day.

(Things like the music I play,

the words people say

and the way I choose to take them...)

Sometimes, things are microscope-tiny

or too big to see.

Sometimes, all that’s left is me,

a speck in the Scheme of Things,

making better, happier blips

and hoping they grow wings.
~
(To hear the author recite her poem, click play below) 

Ruth Calder Murphy is a writer, artist, music teacher, wife and mother living in London, UK. Her life is wonderfully full of creativity and low-level chaos. She is the author of two published novels, The Scream and The Everlasting Monday, several books of poetry and one or two as-yet unpublished novels. More of Ruth' Spiritual poetry can be found in her book, Spirit Song and the soon-to-be-released sequel, "River Song". She is passionate about celebrating the uniqueness of people, questioning the unquestionable and discovering new perspectives on old wonders. She is learning to ride the waves that come along—peaks and troughs—and is waking up to just how wonderful life really is. You can visit Ruth and view more of her art on her website, or on her writer's page on Facebook. All her books are available on Amazon, here.

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~