“Otherwise”

Reflections on gratefulness

I came across a poem by Jane Kenyon that caused me to pause and think. In our busy, rushed and hectic world, there is never enough time to think and reflect or even meditate. However, as I read this poem, I was struck by how often we take our world for granted as if it were going to be always that way.

The poem, “Otherwise” by Jane Kenyon who was the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire and the author of several books on poetry is a good example of her work which is sometimes very direct but sparse. She herself died at a rather young age of Leukemia, but not before finishing several books that give us insight into the subtle nuances of human existence. It’s even been said that a theme of faith is threaded throughout her poetry.

The following is her poem that points out the contrast of our lives:

“Otherwise”

by Jane Kenyon

I got out of bed

on two strong legs.

It might have been

otherwise.

I ate

cereal, sweet

milk, ripe, flawless

peach. It might

have been otherwise.

I took the dog uphill

to the birch wood.

All morning I did

the work I love.

At noon I lay down

with my mate. It might

have been otherwise.

We ate dinner together

at a table with silver

candlesticks. It might

have been otherwise.

I slept in a bed

in a room with paintings

on the walls, and

planned another day

just like this day.

But one day, I know,

it will be otherwise.

I like “Otherwise” because it calls us into realizations about life that we take for granted thinking as if things will be the same forever.

In another way as you look back on your life, you realize that things have changed from a wall that was built in Berlin to it’s destruction that came years later. You realize that your children have grown up or you see that you have grown older. It is a nagging contrast of the word, “Otherwise” that pushes us to appreciate the moments we have lived into meaning and the many people that decorate our life with love and friendship. The appreciation grows even more intense if you are an alert person who realizes that life is fragile and things change.

“Otherwise” forces us to take a deep look at ourselves and realize that things could have turned out differently and even far worse than we ever thought.

Regret is something that we all live with but also a feeling that we want to minimize as much as we can. It’s been said that “Hell is truth seen too late.” It is the world of “If only” that haunts us. If only I had done the right thing. If only I was there for them. If only I was a better father. It’s another way of saying that things have been “Otherwise” in our life’s journey. It’s the reality of the “Otherwise” that makes a person wake up and see that they have really messed up or missed a prime opportunity to be a better person or to help another person.

“Otherwise” is another way of saying, but for the grace of God, go I.” Christians happen to believe that grace can make a difference in our lives. That difference allows us to look at life with a thankful heart and a willingness to give back because we have been so blessed and fortunate.

Christian faith is always pointing us to gratefulness and generosity. It is always asking us to look at our mortality and the hour glass that never stops running. The faith is about gratefulness and thanksgiving because life might have turned out “Otherwise.”

As we look to Jesus, we as Christians lift up and appreciate his life, death and resurrection because it might have been “Otherwise.”

--MEH