Quiet Reflections and Prayers
I found life
continued to unfold —
each of us
doing our best
to listen
to our own quiet prayer,
getting lost
and returning
again and again
to silence.
I found it a bit
humorous
after a while —
all the trying
to understand and
interpret.
And so I continued on
as a part of
the mystery —
a little lighter —
participating without ever
leaving the space
within my deepest heart
and just below
the surface.
Self became
less of a thing
to sort out
and fix
and more of
a fluid,
flexible way
of exploring
and being —
not so solid.
Help us to honor
and set down
the layers of stories
carried for so long
in our minds.
Help us to listen
and speak with
our hearts
again —
to know
the tenderness
in the silent spaces
we tried so hard
to fill
and in the pain
we tried to
so hard
to sort out.
May our own
unfolding steps
be reminders
of a gentler path.
Amen
What I found
wasn’t a perfectly
sorted life
resulting from
a neatly packaged
set of how to
do it.
It was,
to be honest,
the small moments
along a messy journey
connecting me
with those who
had found
that something deeper —
reminding me
to keep going
until I found them —
helping me to
notice them
once I did.
I began to let go
of old ideas
of how the story
should go —
showing up
more and more
in resonance
with my own heart,
no longer waiting
for outer reflections
to change —
looking instead
to the subtle,
lasting effects
of the elixir
found at the root
of my own deepest
pain.
After a while,
the need to struggle
so hard to heal
or find relief
was quieted.
The stories continued
but without the power
to pull me
from my heart.
I became willing
to stand firm
in any storm —
remaining grounded
and humble
and empty
of anything that
could have ever
separated me
from this place.
In place of
the disconnect
and old dialogues
that used to happen,
all that was
in support of
the deepest kind
of healing
began to rise up.
Old wounds were
honored,
not acted out —
not sifted through.
There was a
new network
of support —
firmly held in place
from a little deeper
down.
Thank you for each
bit of hope
shared on this
sacred journey
of life.
Thank you for art
in all forms —
for the mysterious
way it arises
and leads us back
to the silent spaces
within our own hearts.
Thank you for each
heart willing
to show up,
to create
and to listen
to quiet prayers
and continue on.
Amen
I found peace
in knowing,
without doubt,
that I am
more than what
can be seen
or measured
or labeled
in any way.
I found strength
in standing in
my own story,
honoring stories
of self and others
without needing
to be only that
And so I continued on —
reaching always
for the place
that was most healed —
settling for
nothing less.
No longer needing
to be neatly sorted,
I continued on
in search
of my own
true voice —
honoring all that had
gone before —
following the
painfully subtle
whispers —
gently shedding
all that was
no longer needed —
continuing on
as a prayer
that would forever
find its way.
Laurie's Notes 