It Might Have Been Otherwise
On August 31st, I shared a piece by Maria Popova that featured a poem by Jane Kenyon titled "Otherwise." I bring the poem to our attention again because, since reading the poem, it has impacted my life more than I could have imagined.
How?
Having learned the remarkable power of gratitude in my life and the clear and powerful physiology behind its power, I have (since waking up in 2012) practiced being grateful by doing my best to keep my perspective in the right lane and by doing my best (some days better than others) to have a daily gratitude practice.
The power of Kenyon's phrase "it might have been otherwise" is beautifully highlighted in her poem by recounting the simple, ordinary pleasures of her life that could have been otherwise.
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.
The phrase "it might have been otherwise" has transformed my moment to moment practice of gratitude in two ways:
First, by calling to mind the phrase "it might have been otherwise" during those ordinary but precious moments of our lives, it serves as a brief forcing function that brings our mind into a moment of presence and gratitude for the ordinary moments we all experience, but so often get lost in the torrent of our relentless busyness.
Second, if I start to whine or complain about some inconvenience or issue, it once again serves as a forcing function to immediately relieve me of my self-pity. For example, some of you may recall my bout of surgery on my knee a bit over a year ago. A preoperative nerve block damaged the nerve, leaving the bottom of my left foot dead numb, the medial aspect of my left calf weak and smaller than the right, and my toes prone to spontaneous bouts of spasms.
This can be very frustrating, and occasionally I feel irritated and sorry for myself as it has impaired my previous lifestyle.
But whenever I start to enter the trance of self-absorption and self-pity, I now spontaneously think of "it could have been otherwise," because it could have been otherwise! I can still walk my girl Juno as far as I want, I can go to the gym and struggle through a leg workout, and I don't have a knee replacement.
The phrase "it could have been otherwise" serves as a powerful psychocatalytic knockout punch to the poor me always lurking in the background of our minds.
