Do you know a stream? Not some little crick,

But something that moves right along. 

I’m sorry if you don’t. Find one. Sit by it. Watch it. 

Consider its source: mountain snow, 

Floodplain, spring. Glory in its abundance. 

Compare the flow to the days of your life. 

It will sober. Better your thoughts drift 

(Write it!) like a leaf floating downstream 

Toward our planet’s munificence; that it could, 

And does, provide a gift so precious, so enduring. 

Sit and watch until worldly thoughts have ebbed. 

Go home to your family or your solitary room, 

Contemplate what it is that makes life flow richly, 

And if you find you don’t have it—get it.