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The Courage to Create

Rollo May

“A choice confronts us. Shall we, as we feel our foundations shaking, withdraw in anxiety and panic? Frightened by the loss of our familiar mooring places, shall we become paralyzed and cover our inaction with apathy? If we do those things, we will have surrendered our chance to participate in the forming of the future. We will have forfeited the distinctive characteristic of human beings—namely, to influence our evolution through our own awareness. We will have capitulated to the blind juggernaut of history and lost the chance to mold the future into a society more equitable and humane.”

—Rollo May, The Courage to Create


the place where we once had a picnic
is now underwater

that one thick branch
of the shade tree
is now hovering
over the rippling surface

its trunk submerged—
holding its breath
for us

Last updated: August 8, 2023