Tradition

It's not being Worship Leader during Homecoming that bothers me.
It's being a part of tradition that does.
Tradition says we follow the same path as we have gone before,
honor our forefathers and continue their practices,
sing their songs and pray their prayers,
and teach the young the same things so
they can continue on the same road.
But tradition also shows that there
are no left and right-hand turns,
no need for maps or navigational tools,
just stay on the road
and never get off.
But for the sake of my restless being
and this insatiable desire of mine to release
the multitude of words and ideas screaming inside me,
I need to go another route.
Not because I don't respect and appreciate
what tradition has meant along the way,
but because I know what tradition can do to people,
especially the minds of those who march
with a different cadence.
Tradition wants them to put their drums down
and sit passively and obediently,
following along to what's been dictated
as tried and true
all the while watching the new day
leave everyone behind in the dust.
So I'll do my part and participate on this day
but my stay will not be a long one
for once I leave and head along my way,
I'm back to swimming in the seas
of new and expansive horizons.