Quiet Reflections and Prayers
Because of
the most challenging
of circumstances,
I was drawn directly
into the center of
my deepest heart.
From this position,
from this blessing
in disguise,
I was able to
walk through anything.
Looking back,
I wouldn’t have chosen
anything at all
over the peace
I found in that moment —
when there was
no other choice.
I began to notice
a natural softening
in myself and others
as I aligned to my own
true essence —
a subtle shifting
that bypassed
the need to sort out
every personal flaw
and pattern.
There was a sense
of relief
after having struggled
and identified ourselves
with the parts
that were evolving —
an embracing —
a relaxing into
our own inherent wholeness.
I found peace
in the letting go
of the need
to hold each detail
of my own life
so tightly.
Somehow,
because all attempts
at solving the puzzle
of my own struggles
in the usual ways
completely failed,
I was left
holding the remnants
of a deeper story.
This was the story
I wanted to share
because it belonged
to a deeper me.
I found myself within
a beautiful motion
of holding
and letting go,
allowing attention
to land
where it pleased,
sometimes pausing —
always continuing —
unattached to labels
or the need to
connect all of the dots
too soon —
holding and honoring
all that crossed
my path
as this most natural
rhythm began to feel
more and more
like home —
letting go into
my own deepest heart.
I began to let the words
find their own way
out of my experiences
and out of my heart,
though the empty space
I was left holding,
having tossed everything
back to wherever it came.
I became willing to
stand in that uncomfortable
place of in-between,
letting the pieces
come together
as they always did —
allowing life
to both lead and follow —
showing up empty
of me —
holding sacred space
for all of us.
Looking back,
I held the pieces
of my own deepest healing
all along.
I only had to
step out of
my own way
and allow them to
come together.
I had to step forward
and toss them all
in trust
that wherever
they landed,
it would be okay.
When there is
much to sort through,
when we can’t see
where to start,
let us begin
in surrender
to all that is
most healed
in our own hearts.
And may we find
comfort in knowing,
that somehow,
within this great mystery,
we belong
to each other.
Amen
I wish to reflect
all that is soft,
to offer my love
to all that is not —
to remind us
of the sacredness
of the journey
and the beauty
in the transformation.
— Laurie, What’s Right Here
Give us strength
to stand firm,
to reach for what is
most true,
to find security
not in the things
we have been shown
to grasp,
but in our deepest core —
returning to our
natural place —
trusting those who have
made the trip before us —
reaching for others’ hands —
reaching ahead and behind,
gathering more strength
so that we may do
what we came to do
and share what we came
to share
as healers of our
own hearts.
Amen
I began to listen
to life —
to show up
and listen
to what was around me,
perhaps as our ancestors
once listened —
before all the noise.
And so I began
to listen
a little more deeply —
not analyzing each sound,
but waiting for the music
to continue,
noticing my own part
within in it
and outside of it.
And I couldn’t imagine
it being any other way.
Laurie's Notes 