Poetry as a muse

Here's an idea for churning up memories:

Pick up a book of poetry and take the first line as a memory tickler. I did this recently, except it was the second line that jumped out at me: "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him," which some of you will remember is also the name of a really cool book. The line brought up memories of being at that place in my life when I wanted answers about having happiness--oh yes, we all get to that point at some time in our lives (usually in adolescence and again in midlife angst). But, guess what, I discovered that the answers to my life journey can't come from outside of me. It's a journey of self-discovery.

The line of poetry lead me to write about a value that I want to pass on to my grandchildren. By reminiscing about my own crisis and angst, I wrote about that time in a short personal reflection so that the value is not passed on in a pedantic way, but, instead, as "This was my experience and this is what I learned... "

It will be up to them whether they learn from my lesson, but at least, they will know they're not alone when they face a similar time.