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Oh, David Whyte, I am hooked. I've been listening to his latest CD collection, What to Remember When Waking, mesmerized by his mellifluous accent. For me, the best part of listening to Whyte is the anticipation I feel while waiting for him to drop the next poetic bomb. I've never studied poetry, so my poetic vocabulary is quite limited. Whyte is responsible for introducing me to Mary Oliver, to Marina Tsvetaeva, to Yeats, to Wordsworth, to Rilke and Machado, and even to Dickinson and Eliot. But I don't know if I'll ever forgive him for constantly kicking my bum through poetry. Yesterday I got to hear him talk about the English poet Wei Wu Wei (born Terence Gray) and his poem, Why Are You Unhappy?
Oh, David Whyte, I am hooked. I've been listening to his latest CD collection, What to Remember When Waking, mesmerized by his mellifluous accent. For me, the best part of listening to Whyte is the anticipation I feel while waiting for him to drop the next poetic bomb. I've never studied poetry, so my poetic vocabulary is quite limited. Whyte is responsible for introducing me to Mary Oliver, to Marina Tsvetaeva, to Yeats, to Wordsworth, to Rilke and Machado, and even to Dickinson and Eliot. But I don't know if I'll ever forgive him for constantly kicking my bum through poetry. Yesterday I got to hear him talk about the English poet Wei Wu Wei (born Terence Gray) and his poem, Why Are You Unhappy? Why are you unhappy?
Because 99.9 per cent
Of everything you think,
And of everything you do,
Is for yourself --
And there isn't one.
Because 99.9 per cent
Of everything you think,
And of everything you do,
Is for yourself --
And there isn't one.
Well, that sounds pretty clear. There isn't one. If you're reading this blog, you've probably heard of non-self. Wei Wu Wei says in the same book:
We do not possess an "ego."
We are possessed by the idea of one.
Here's Whyte's explanation: More>>
