This morning I awoke to find some frost on the front lawn of our home and it prompted me to recall, amid the dark gray skies, a poem I recently read.

Oh Star…And steadfast as Keats’ Eremite,
not even stooping from its sphere,
It asks a little of us here.
It asks of us a certain height,
So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid.

For some unknown resaon, Robert Frost was a favorite of the schools I attended as a child.  For some reason it was his poetry that we often read and memorized when the opportunity came up.  For a poetry contest, I once entered and performed my dramatic recitation of Frosts’ Fire and Ice which was a challenge for me because I was barely a teenager and I had an initial fear of standing in front of my peers on a stage that was brightly lit.  I quickly got over that fear once I stepped on the stage and saw my captive audience waiting on baited breath to experience a one-of-a-kind dramatic performance of Robert Frost’s work.  Well, at least that was what I imagined, and it did help to calm my nervousness.

This particular portion of the poem, Choose Something Like a Star, I shared with you is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.  No, it is not one of the poems I read when I am down or need to be lifted up and encouraged.  It is not a poem that I would pick up and read for the pure enjoyment of the literary piece itself.  Instead, this poem has been glanced at a number of times as a motivational element in my day to do the right thing.  It is as simple as that.

The poem is also about a search for answers, only to discover some things can’t be answered or answered in the time frame desired of the one asking the question.  Of course, given man’s search for the truth, this could be frustrating.  Hell, given my propensity for wanting to know the future, this frustrates the heck out of me.  Of course I have no mal intent when I ask questions, it is just that I would like to know things for the sake of knowing and maybe even assurance or comfort.  I know firsthand that my wanting to know answers to questions it seems that I might be the only one seeking answers for can be irritating.  I guess I am someone who likes to look at the big picture, setting goals and ideas about (not expectations for) the future.  I know that is something that I need to move towards looking to the present and dealing with things as they come.  I know this.

Here is my fear that Mr. Frost does not address.  Looking to the present and living in the ‘now’ is important and I can see great value in doing so.  However, what about the concept of anticipation…in the good sense.  Being able to foresee and prepare for what may come in the future.  I would find just as much frustration by living in the now and then get caught off guard by something that could have been dealt with and planned for.  Right?  Maybe that is not a question I should ask.  Maybe I should be more carefree and let my hair down and not be so uptight.  Well, everything except letting my hair down since there is not much to work with at this point.

So when I seek answers to questions I might be the only one asking or try to find answers that might not exist (yet) what harm or frustration is there in the search.  Isn’t that where the true/real answers come from?  Oops, there I go asking questions again!