I learned to create
from the inside.
The need to have
questions answered
at once,
a perfect outer
reflection,
and other people’s
understanding
or approval
began to fall
away —
making way for
a deepening peace
to be reflected
outward
from my heart.
Category: Reflections
Rediscovered
After a while,
I found I could
reach a little past
the surface
of what appeared.
I found I could
connect with
a peace independent
of outer
reflections.
I found my deepest
healing in the space
rediscovered,
a little more in each
moment —
within my heart.
From There
I vowed to stand
within my heart
in all of my
experiences.
In that moment,
I learned
the value in
the willingness
to allow myself
to feel my true
essence
and to be led
gently from there.
Along the Way
There was something
sacred
in having healed
to the core,
the memory of
the veering off
from the more widely
traveled path,
and the gentle way
it seemed
to circle back
to reach the most
tender treasures
surrendered
along the way.
From There
Somehow I got it
that I was moving
in a direction
that wasn’t exactly
where I had wanted
to go.
I had to back up
and look again
from my heart
for whatever it was
I thought I’d been
seeking —
to start over again —
though I had been
trying for so long.
And so I looked
around me —
from exactly where I
stood
and started again
from there.
Whatever It Was
At a certain point,
the only real
option was to hold
the space within —
to retreat
in surrender
to the quiet prayer
of my heart —
not knowing
how or if
it would affect
anything else.
But it was the only
real option left —
again and again.
The landing became
softer
after a while.
And it didn’t seem
to matter so much
what met me
in that place.
Whatever it was
had to know
the sweetness
of that same
surrender.
All of It
I gathered all
parts of me,
even those
most difficult
to hold.
And I held all
of me —
all of them.
It didn’t matter
how long it took
or that there was,
in fact,
no guarantee
that my holding
would make any
difference at all.
And I honored all
that had led me
to that point —
all of it —
because I had
made it to my
deepest heart.
And I set
it all
down.
In the Direction of My Heart
It was the feeling
of being connected
with all of my own
fractured pieces
I had longed
to reclaim.
It was this longing
for this sacred
reconnection
I had sensed
returning
to all of my
experiences
that calmed me
whenever I reached
in the direction
of my own
heart.
Just Below
I found it was
possible to reclaim
and transform
parts of my heart
the world described as
broken.
I found it was possible
to turn my attention
toward the parts
of me
that were most
healed —
while scooping up
all that was unhealed
and all that was
becoming.
It took a bit of
courage
to sneak below
my usual thinking
mind
which saw only
the surface
and mismatched
pieces.
Oh, but just below
was where I found
the sweetest treasures.
Beneath the Pieces
And so the healing
began,
the gathering
of my very
heart,
the not knowing
just how
the pieces fit or
even if they
did.
And then it seemed
to matter less
how the puzzle went
than the love
I found there
beneath the pieces.
Laurie's Notes 