Caroline Burlingham
Mr. H. Salsich
English
15 September 2008

Live Your Way:

A Comparison Essay

Some people say that we, as humans, spend our lives searching for answers, others say that when we are confronted with questions, we grasp for the answers, but Rainer Maria Rilke says that if you live neither the question nor the answer, you will have what you were looking for. At first, this may not make any since, but after looking at it the right way, you will see what was intended to be seen. Rilke believes that it is the questions that truly matter, not the answers, just like the Chinese Proverb that says, “The journey is the reward.” Both suggest that it is time to stop looking for a destination, and time to see what’s in front of you.

The very last line of Rilke’s poem states, “Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” This may suggest that we, as humans, think too much. We are always distracted, we sometimes forget to, “Stop and smell the roses.” The time is now, if you stop thing about answers, the will find you when the time comes. Sometimes, people spend too much time trying to get others to listen to what they have to say that they end up forgetting their innovative (FAST) thought. The forgotten thought is on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t seem to remember. Minutes later, after many more conversations, the thought suddenly comes to you; once you stopped thinking about it, you remembered. The Rilke poem also tells people not to, “search” for what cannot be given to you. Dave, a hiker in the White Mountains, told our class to, “Stop focusing on the destination when journey is the most important part.” It’s not the start or the end, but the middle that counts, “The journey is the reward.” Eventually, the time to know will come to you, but for now, think about the journey, not the destination.

Another key theme to Rilke’s poem, Is to, “Love the questions, […] and live the questions,” live them in you life and love them in you soul, because they will be part of you (loose). The Chinese Proverb that states, “The journey is the reward” has the same argument as this poem. They both propose that the start and finish is not nearly as important as the middle. It is the here and now that really counts; this is what decides your future. Rilke mentions that we should live for the questions, and not for the answers. The questions are like challenges in our life; they are not meant to be obstacles. If we cheated our ways to the answers, we would have nothing left to ponder (FAST). Many people say that, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” When something or someone you love is right on the edge leaving, many people would do anything to bring it back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, and you will never be able to re-live, re-use, or re-love that thing again (loose). According to this poem and Chinese Proverb, questions aren’t for solving, but for knowing.

Often, we forget that we only have one life to live. If love is for loving, questions are for knowing, and journeys are for experiencing, that means that life is for living. Sometimes, answers aren’t meant to be found, and we need to remember this throughout our lives. It’s not the questions or answers, but your life’s journey that truly is the reward.