Sometimes I wonder
if any of this actually means something.
The effort.
The struggle.
The starting again.
I’m not asking for happiness.
I just want to know
if this isn’t all pointless.
What would an ossan think about meaning?
Ossan’s answer
An ossan stops looking for meaning
in results.
Results disappear.
Stories fade.
People forget.
Meaning doesn’t live there.
An ossan finds meaning
in what he chooses
to carry forward.
Not everything.
Just a few things.
A way of thinking.
A standard he won’t lower.
A line he won’t cross again.
Meaning is not discovered.
It’s assigned.
Quietly.
Without witnesses.
An ossan doesn’t ask,
“Was it worth it?”
He asks,
“What did this change in me
that I will not give back?”
If something remains,
then it wasn’t pointless.
That is enough meaning
for an ossan.