No Worries

My favorite poem this year was “Chester” by John Koethe. I like this poem because Koethe really emphasized the importance of enjoying the simplicities of life. People often end up too hung up on everything in life having excitement and seeming extraordinary. Instead, Koethe recognizes that “The true soul is the one that flickers in the eyes/ Of an animal, like a cat that lifts its head and yawns/ And looks at you, and then goes back to sleep” (Koethe 24-26). I think that the ideas in Koethe’s poem really parallel to my favorite book we read this year, Ron Currie Jr.’s Everything Matters! Like in the poem, Junior learns to appreciate the simpler things in life in the alternate universe. He could have chosen anything for his alternate universe, including possibilities that did not seem possible. The voice tells him, “pick a self. Any self” and he chooses to go back to his own life, but change just one thing (Currie 262). Even as the world comes to an end, Junior recognizes that “there is joy…greater joy and love in just this one last moment” (Currie 302). Junior finally realizes, like Koethe discusses, that you cannot control everything in life. There is no use in stressing over everything because “Nothing is guaranteed” (Currie 264). So, rather than suffering, why not just enjoy what you have? I admire both Koethe and Currie’s attitude about living the life you can enjoy over the life you think you must have.