Although it is late in the day of our life

it is not too late to pick up what has fallen

to fix what was broken

to bring light where there was darkness
 
We must set out

take the first step

begin the journey

There is a world and a lifetime of difference

in merely drifting down the river of life

or taking the tiller
 
All rivers run to the sea

but

rapids need careful planning

there are rocks to avoid

falls that must be portaged

To merely drift with the river

and not to steer

is to waste the time of our life

on uneeded difficulty

and unnecessary problems

that could be avoided

​

There is so much that cannot be avoided

So

let us take
 
the rudder of our life

Grasp it as firmly as we can

Steer our boat by some star

aim for some home

even if distant. . .
 
Knowing full well

we know not where we are bound

Like Odysseus

that ancient sojourner

who visited many lands

he did not intend to

in his time of wandering

 

And

we will meet other travelers upon this trackless ocean

Freely and gladly we will offer our help and blessings

Traveling this way

we will not fall into despair

And
If we come into a strange and unknown land
We will find friends and help 

miraculously

Always when we need it
 
 
There is a beauty in everything

when we embrace it

There is ugliness in anything

we exclude from our loving

 
Beauty is not a mood of mind

It is the feeling heart

filled with joy

Ugliness is not a feeling of the heart

But the judgment of mind

Divorced from feeling

 
Feeling cannot find ugliness

But only be wounded in Love and sympathy

Mind can approximate beauty

But not move ecstatically with it

Only the feeling heart can step the dance

and
 
So we laugh and

love and are full of praise

for this river of life

This river of life in which we all

will one day drown