Kids Corner

All photos: Courtesy, James Baigrie

Poetry

Everyday Things

A Poem by SAT PURKH KAUR KHALSA

 

 

Once, several years ago, a friend
said to me, "your world is so small."
I agreed. But what he didn't see--what
no one sees--is that even in these small,
everyday things, this tiny little world
I dwell in, these 20 square blocks,
this well-traveled country road,
the curve of these particular mountains,
that particular body of water,
the deep lines in my brows,
the map of my hands,
the worlds within my own eyes.

These everyday things are my
universe. You see it as small; but I
have always believed that the only way
to know everything was to be intimately
engaged with one thing. To know it like
your own hand, the curve of your own breast,
the light in your own eye. These are the
things we can know. And in our knowing,
the entire play of the cosmos awakens
in our hearts.

My small world is a temple, a grand
basilica, a symphony, a song.

These everyday things give me comfort.
They are the keys to what I know of Infinity.
They are the image of God. There are no idols,
there is only the magic and mystery found
in these the most mundane of
everyday things. And my small world
is alight with the play of the Infinite
in this wooden spoon, in this rounded, smooth stone,
in this well-worn book, in this faded photograph,
and this pair of jeans, littered with holes.

Look upon your world--sing your song, build your
temple, write your symphony in the names of all
the everyday things that surround you.
This is love.

 

December 21, 2009

Conversation about this article

1: Arunjit Qaumi (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), December 25, 2009, 12:11 AM.

Is my world small? Yes, indeed it is small. I have been laden with so many things, emotions, relations, joys, fears, mysteries, knowledge. God helps me in flowing through this world, from my birth to the ultimate death. Now I enter the Grand Universe. And now is my universe SMALL? He made me small to flow from my world into the universe and to God!

2: Satinder (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), January 14, 2010, 2:22 AM.

Beautiful indeed. Too often we spend our life chasing this and that in the vast outer world and get lost in it. One blessed day, we get tired of chasing outside, decide on a different journey, a journey within ourself. Within our small world, our little lab, with a daily dose of wisdom from our gurbani, we take time to unravel mysteries of the universe. And, it is said, if we keep on the path believing "He Moves as I move, He breathes when I breath", He will with his grace take over all of me.

Comment on "Everyday Things"









To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following.

Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.