Places You Never Meant to Go

Life has a funny way
Of taking you to places you never meant to go
Of teaching you lessons you never wanted to learn
And making you reach up for answers
When you thought you would never grow

Life doesn’t give away or take
Equally or justly to the greedy or the meek
It doesn’t pause so that you can have a break
From the messes you and others create
As each dilemma causes you to climb another peak

Life is a terrifying but beautiful exploration
We are willingly and then begrudgingly forced to pursue
Life contains a constant, ever-winding hunt
For the next goal, the next prize, the next emotion:
All just helping us explain why we do what we do

Life’s explorations bring both exhilaration and sorrows
One right after the other as we decide what we want to hold
We each choose our path-- not just to follow-- but also create
We pick our forest to investigate and our treasure to unearth
We use the excavated currency to buy meaning in what we’re told

Still... life is not at all meaningless or worthless
Though it also holds no clearly defined exchange rate or pace
In the end, the value of our lives will be found in how they’re lived
Their worth will draw directly for whom we choose to breathe
Life’s energy is spent for love –or lack thereof--and its chase

-- Written by Sandy Heights