The edge of the world does not look far away, To that I am running.
—Papago Indian song for a young girl—
All things seem possible to us when we’re young. The world’s problems look solvable; our optimism and our immense youthful energy combine to make us hopeful and impatient. Why didn’t anyone see before? It’s all so simple: if people would just love each other…
As we grow older, we learn more about the complicated system the world is. We learn that everything is interrelated, and that none of our simple youthful solutions even addressed the problems. In fact, we learn that they are problems, they’re how the present system is working. If we want to change those features that we thought of as a problem, then we have to be prepared for everything to change.
If we’re wise, we also know how to keep that rapture; how to rekindle the belief that all is possible. Not because we believe in our power to change the whole world, but because the vision is beautiful and gives us the energy.
The end may be in sight, but today’s journey is all I really have. Let me make the most of it.