When we don’t really know
When sources cannot or will not be disclosed
Whatever comes to fill in the blank
The catch all for that elusive thing we sort of believe
_ it takes
_you want
_works
A wink to corners cut, people unseen
Its flimsiness further crippled when used all by its lonesome
Whatever.
For all its accommodation, an abandoned whatever reeks of indifference
A smack down to further thinking or conversation
The socially accepted shorthand for “I don’t care past here.”
But what if rather than the last bite, whatever was the first taste
A call to scan far and wide for
Whatever is true and lovely and excellent
Not only the obvious things but the hidden things too
Past right now into what is right and just
Past the edges of good enough
A continuous decision to gorge on so much lovely your thought bubbles could be jumbotroned
Probing what moves us one step closer to our humanity and two steps closer to understanding another’s dignity
Noticing what takes our breath away and allowing it to give it back with compound interest
A flywheel of virtuous thought and practice
Whatever re-imagined
To a wide open place with commas and exclamation marks and run-on sentences…