We Move in Infinite Space

 Rilke occupies a special place in my life's  journey.

When I was 19 and struggling to write poetry, I read his Letters To A Young Poet, and there was a question that he asked Kappus that brought me up short. I remember that Rilke's answer was something like this:

"You ask me whether you are a poet and I cannot tell you. But I will say this: You need to sit down with yourself and ask yourself very seriously if poetry is the most important activity in your life. Based on how you answer that question, you will be able to say whether or not you are a poet."

I closed the book, and after a long silence, from somewhere deep inside, my answer came.
"No, Poetry is not the most important thing in my life: LIVING is the most important thing!"

From that moment, I began to practice a life of poetry as exploration and not as a disguise.

 Just what I needed today. I've been struggling to understand the inner unhappiness with where I'm at, knowing what is predestined for me to fulfill, yet feeling "constrained" by life's activity and busyness to move forward. I will re-read. It makes a lot of sense.