Without a Doubt

A Gentler Path February 17, 2022

The delicate process of holding on,

letting go, and reaching without grasping

led to a gentler path.

There I learned the value of

tenderness and became willing to

set down many things in exchange for

a deeper connection with life.

I knew without a doubt that

whatever appeared would eventually lead

back to a tender place in my own heart.

And so I became willing to bear the ache

of leftover traces of unhealed and

unresolved experiences —

willing to be in this place where there are

no guarantees —

willing to show up in each moment

with a quiet prayer and renewed reverence

for the sacred journey,

however it unfolded.

Something Beautiful

A Gentler Path February 5, 2022

The transition into tenderness

required delicate footing.

I learned to look a little

more deeply into my surroundings.

Nothing was at it seemed,

but that meant

something beautiful must be

hidden beneath what appeared.

I learned to look a little more deeply

into what was there,

intuitively drawn to remain

in each moment —

no matter what —

determined to find just one

small sign of beauty

when at first glance,

all was dark —

holding each faint whisper of hope —

becoming more determined with each step

to help it to grow.

Remembrance

A Gentler Path February 4, 2022

What looked like a dead end

to the path less taken

turned into more of

a vertical journey within,

reflecting outward.

and becoming even more connected

with God and with my own

heart.

There was a gratitude beyond words

for each tiny piece of truth

that added to an unshakeable knowing —

the remembrance of my very essence

that could never be broken —

a tender space

where there had once been

only pain.

Hope for the Best

A Gentler Path February 3, 2022

I learned to focus

and remain centered within

my heart.

I found respite in the sacredness

when the world around me seemed

unreachable,

and I couldn’t seem

to bridge the gap between my inner

experience and the outer chaos.

The harder I tried,

the bigger it became.

I remembered back to times before

when the only solution I could see

was to let go of my heart

in order to survive and somehow

manage to fit in.

But this time I had traveled too far

and learned too much.

And so the only thing to do,

having reached the end of the path,

was to stand still right there in my heart,

in the middle of the chaos,

and hope for the best.

A Little Magic

A Gentler Path January 26, 2022

I found a little magic

in the reclaimed ability to transform

all that was painful

into something tender.

It was each momentary remembrance

of the first time

I dared to turn down the noise

around me and inside

that carried me gently back

to my heart again

and again.

It was the courage to stand

in the quiet space within

just a little longer,

allowing all that was unsorted

and unhealed

to be held without condition

just a little more deeply

that attuned me

to the continuous quiet prayer

in my heart

and reconnected me

to my soul.

A Gentler Path

A Gentler Path, Unsorted January 25, 2022

The tenderness found

in that first moment of surrender

initiated me into the delicate process

of walking through the most

difficult times.

It taught me to hold

and let go of all that is

unhealed and unresolved

in me and in the world.

It offered a glimpse into our creative,

resilient human nature

that finds a way to look

a little deeper

for beauty and hope

and a gentler path.

After Everything

Reflections, Unsorted November 30, 2021

The quiet prayer in my heart

continued on

no matter how many times I seemed

to forget to listen.

It was there in the quiet moments

when I dared to gather up all

of the confusion and anxieties

and frustration and ongoing traumas

playing out all around me.

It was there in the aha moments

when I became quiet enough to remember

all I had forgotten to gather up —

all the little bits of hope and the pure

miraculous way they still existed

after everything.

It was there when I remembered

just one small, sweet memory

of the journey —

a time when I seemed to be

completely alone but realized I was not.

In a sea of traumatic memories

and the long list of things lost,

what stood out, if I looked

and listened a little deeper,

was tenderness.