A Little Kingdom I Possess

Out walking again by the stream with the gray rocks rising like layer cakes to meet the thickly frosted sky.  And here and there the moss decorates them too.  The quietness of eveningtime, the gurgling of the stream, and the gentle rustle of the deer and the listen for my steps to pass before they bolt away.  I use this time to turn my thoughts inward, to take those solemn side streets my mind rarely has time to wander down. I reflect on the day and ruminate over all the words both spoken and heard.  I question myself, I judge myself.  I questions others, examine them, learn from them.   At a very young age I read selections from some of the great philosophers of old, including Socrates.  The idea of know thyself before you claim to know anything else, resonated with me.   I am a great questioner of my own mental process and motives.  It can be crippling at times and I have to reign it in.  But it is also necessary and a quiet time of day set aside for this purpose is necessary too.  It puts me in mind of Robert Louis Stevenson's My Kingdom and I've included a few lines here:

A little kingdom I possess 

where thoughts and feelings dwell, 

And very hard I find the task 

For passion tempts and troubles me, 

of governing it well; 

A wayward will misleads, 

On all my words and deeds.

And selfishness its shadow casts 



--


I do not ask for any crown 

But that which all may win 

Nor seek to conquer any world 

Except the one within.





Be thou my guide until I find, 

Led by a tender hand, 

And dare to take command.

Thy happy kingdom in myself 

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