The World's All Right
Robert William Service

Be honest, kindly, simple, true;
Seek good in all, scorn but pretence;
Whatever sorrow come to you,
Believe in Life's Beneficence!
The World's all right;
 
Serene I sit, And cease to puzzle over it.
There's much that's mighty strange, no doubt;
But Nature knows what she's about;
And in a million years or so
We'll know more than to-day we know.
Old Evolution's under way -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

Could things be other than they are?
All's in its place, from mote to star.
The thistledown that flits and flies Could drift no hair-breadth otherwise.
What is, must be; with rhythmic laws All Nature chimes, Effect and Cause.
The sand-grain and the sun obey -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

Just try to get the Cosmic touch, The sense that "you" don't matter much.
A million stars are in the sky;
A million planets plunge and die;
A million million men are sped;
A million million wait ahead.
Each plays his part and has his day -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

Just try to get the Chemic view:
A million million lives made "you". 
In lives a million you will be Immortal down Eternity;
Immortal on this earth to range, 
With never death, but ever change.
You always were, and will be aye -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

Be glad! And do not blindly grope For Truth that lies beyond our scope:
A sober plot informeth all Of Life's uproarious carnival.
Your day is such a little one, A gnat that lives from sun to sun;
Yet gnat and you have parts to play -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

And though it's written from the start, Just act your best your little part.
Just be as happy as you can, And serve your kind, and die -- a man.
Just live the good that in you lies, And seek no guerdon of the skies;
Just make your Heaven here, to-day -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

Remember! in Creation's swing, The Race and not the man's the thing.
There's battle, murder, sudden death, And pestilence, with poisoned breath.
Yet quick forgotten are such woes; On, on the stream of Being flows.
Truth, Beauty, Love uphold their sway -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

The World's all right; serene I sit, And joy that I am part of it;
And put my trust in Nature's plan, And try to aid her all I can;
Content to pass, if in my place I've served the uplift of the Race.
Truth! Beauty! Love! O Radiant Day -- What ho! the World's all right, I say.

I’m not going to suggest that every thing is all right, it’s not. But there are parts of this world, parts of our lives and the environment that are joyous, powerful and profound. If I can’t recognize what is “all right” my life is diminished, I give into fear, I lack courage. then despair can seep into my life like water under a stonewall, undermining all my efforts in a rush of futility and self doubt.

But I don’t have to go there. As the poem says “Nature knows what she's about; And in a million years or so we'll know more than to-day we know. Old Evolution's under way -“ What a astonishing gift to be part of something larger, something moving. Evolution as absolutely responsive to the environment, indeed that is the only thing that carves the path of evolution. Nature made me and I am part of the environment. Whether we want to or not, we have an impact. Let mine be a positive one.

Let me give you an example, snatched form the closed books of the evolutionary dead ends is the Ivory Billed Wood Pecker. What a great day it was when the announcement came that the Ivory-Billed wood pecker’s existence had been verified, 50 years after it was feared extinct. What was equally ‘all right’ was the media coverage. It seemed that good news can indeed get good press. The Nature Conservancy stated it like this, “From the brink of extinction comes a flash of hope, the ivory billed wood pecker has returned.” Students were stopping by my office and saying, have you heard! I thought of you, I knew you’d be happy about this. And these weren’t even biology majors. What Ho! The world’s all Right I say.

Evolution, right here and now we’re riding the wave of the present. An ever-moving wave that leaves the past behind and the future forever on the horizon. Except you never arrive at the future and you aren’t allowed to stay in the past. Holly crap I’m aging. Then there is this sense that “ you don’t matter much”.  And yet, what those people that mattered much to the woodpecker, they’ve have worked for over 20 years, as part of agencies, conservation organizations, some were hunters and landowners to conserve and restore the bottomland hardwood and swamp ecosystem. This is why the Ivory Billed woodpecker is still here. The world’s a better place for their efforts. “Each plays a part and has his day – Think of those of great courage amongst us. 

I come here because the people here offer me inspiration simply by doing what they do. There are those among us who are fighting for the family farmer, the environment, for our children, and frankly, for a better future. Man, you people speak up about what is right.  Rarely does a Sunday go by when I’m not astonished by the power and compassion of the people in this congregation. For this I thank you. I am honored to be among you. What Ho! The world’s all Right I say.

I have more courage and fear now than I ever have in my life. The courage of my convictions is bubbling to the surface and demanding my action. The fear, the fear of losing those things that are so precious. Relationships, maybe it’s my kids. My responsibility to do what’s right for them. Before I become a parent I had no idea how important how we live is to children. It’s hard to live up to.

Mark and I were talking late one night before drifting off to sleep, you know, during those rare moments when there is space and time for such conversations. He said he drove more carefully now because so many people would be affected if something happened to them. “Yet gnat and you have parts to play –“I heard once that a person touches seven generations, three behind, three ahead, and of course your own. I want my touch to be a positive one.

I have a greater sense of family now than ever before in my adult life. It’s the ages of my children I think, and having my mother so close. I love working with her. There’s an ease of working with my mother for example in the kitchen. She moves and cooks like I do; it’s familiar and reassuring. I had forgotten. We take joy in the same small pleasures, cream in a fresh, hot cup of coffee. The joy is doubled by being together. What Ho! The world’s all Right I say.

The gifts of parenthood. I relish the gestures we make to one another, we little teams of parents with children. I love the way my daughters will gently lean on me as they wait patiently for me to complete some adult conversation. I am so touched by the touch. If I just touch Martin (almost 4) on the shoulder with the back of my hand he lifts his hand, almost without thought, to hold mine. Think of the love and trust in that simple gesture. I watch Martin sit on his dad’s lap while riding the tractor, out being farmers. Mark’s arm holding Martin safely and confidently as they travel together. “Just make your heaven here today—“What Ho! The world’s all Right I say. 

It’s not always that easy though, is it? I was attending a conference session recently presented by a woman who had spent the better part of her life working on issues in sustainable energy. She was very energetic and surprisingly hopeful. I could see in her what I hoped to be. She was going on about her work and stopped suddenly to say, “You know, we have to grieve for what you care about, if you care about the environment than you must grieve it’s loss and destruction, if it’s social justice you must grieve the injustice of starving people, of persecuted people. If you don’t grieve you’ll burn out.” I felt my shoulders relax when she said that. I had permission to feel sad, to grieve the lost prairie, the eroded farm fields, and hopelessness of many family farmers. I needed to be present in that grief to order to continue to work. She has no idea what a gift she game me in that statement. “Live the good that in you lies – Just make your heaven here today” What Ho! The world’s all Right I say.

I need time in the all rightness of the world in order to have the energy to make positive Changes; to have a reason to believe in making positive changes, indeed if we really believe that the world in hopeless then we have no obligation to improve the place. It’s hopeless, and so much easier. But it ain’t that way. “ On, on the stream of being flows, Truth, Beauty, Love uphold their sway—What Ho! The world’s all Right I say.

I’ll end with the last of the poem:
The World’s All right; serene I sit,
And joy that I am part of it;
And put my trust in Nature’s Plan And try to aid her all I can;
Content to pass, in my place I’ve served the uplift of the Race.
Truth! Beauty! Love! O Radiant day—What Ho! The world’s all Right I say.