This is the only place to start

David Whyte’s poem Start Close In takes us by the hand and will not let us skip the crucial first step.

Yet, sometimes it’s so uncomfortable to be here that we’d rather be anyplace else.

But here is where we need to be.

Now.

Today.

And discover the peace that can hold us here.

Start close in,

don’t take the second step

or the third,

start with the first

thing

close in,

the step

you don’t want to take.

+ David Whyte, excerpt from Start Close In, from Essentials