Lara Tupper: Swift Ink Stories

Following Wild Geese

I believe words can change our trajectory. (Or nudge us in a different direction.) I wrote this piece for Kripalu Resources as a tribute to a poet who steered me well:

"I was deep in Savasana when I first encountered Mary Oliver’s poetry. A wise Kripalu Yoga instructor nudged us from Corpse pose with 'Wild Geese,' which begins,

You do not have to be good.

The words pierced something in me. At the time, 'good' meant self-sacrificing. Unhappy in my job and in my relationship, I’d come to Kripalu Center to consider new choices. The poem seemed to say, You don’t have to suffer anymore.

The next day, several geese appeared on Kripalu’s front lawn, as if to reinforce Mary Oliver’s point. I left Kripalu feeling buoyed, brave. I didn’t have to be the version of 'good' I’d convinced myself was admirable. I found a Mary Oliver collection and kept it close. Eventually I quit my job and moved, solo, to western Massachusetts."

(Read the rest of my essay here: "Four Ways of Looking a…