Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Rilke offers no comfort in the usual sense. He does not promise ease or certainty. Instead, he gives permission. Permission to feel everything without needing to control it, explain it, or escape it. Beauty and terror are placed side by side, not as opposites, but as companions on the same path.
The quiet power of these lines lies in their honesty. Feelings come and go, even the ones that feel unbearable in the moment. Nothing stays forever, not pain, not joy, not confusion. Life moves through us in waves, and our only task is to remain present as they pass.
To keep going is not to be fearless. It is to trust that whatever you are feeling now is not the end of the story.
