What is more important, exercising love

or claiming the certainty of its source?

What is more necessary, drinking clean water from a stream

or labeling the origin of its flow?

What is more essential, eating the tree’s fruit

or naming its root?

What bears more meaning, working with the visible

or claiming to know the unseen?

What makes more sense, addressing the obvious

or guessing at the obscure?

 What has higher value, being right

or experiencing peace?

What is more imperative, knowing yourself

or reliving your ancestry?

What comes first, sharing the present

or your name displayed for future generations?

What is more urgent, preserving life on the earth

or expanding one’s country?

Without the former how can you know the latter?

Guy Schell © 2025