A Gentler Path, Unsorted

To Where My Heart Was Tuned

I found comfort

in the small moments of surrender

when I dared to let go

of everything

and stand in the empty space.

There was tenderness

in the gentle way life began

to flow from there.

And so I returned again

to this place –

trading it all for a quiet prayer

and the chance to follow

to where my heart was tuned.

A Gentler Path, Unsorted

From There

Life had a way of leading

back to the quiet space within –

to the setting down of all

of the tangled up,

unresolved thoughts –

to the difficult step of tossing everything

up to God.

Time and time again I found myself

in a place of too much –

the only clear option being

to return again humbly

to a state of prayer –

to begin again

from there.

Quieting

In This Place

And so every experience,

no matter how painful or beautiful,

eventually led back to my heart.

It didn’t matter how long

I put off the inevitable prayer

of surrender.

Every single time I found my way

to that quiet prayer

and the immediate respite in

the instant recentering.

It didn’t matter that much of life

remained messy and parts

of the unfolding story would

most likely bring with them

a tenderness almost too raw to bear.

All of it eventually ended up

in this place.

A Gentler Path

Without a Doubt

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 —

to be in a place where there are

no guarantees —

to show up in each moment

with a quiet prayer and renewed reverence

for the sacred journey,

however it unfolded.

A Gentler Path

Something Beautiful

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.

Reflections, Unsorted

After Everything

The quiet prayer in my heart

continued on

no matter how many times I forgot

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.