Quiet Reflections and Prayers
I searched
and gathered
and carried
and tried
and learned
many things
in hope
of finding
and sharing
something that would
make some kind of
difference
or bring some kind
of relief.
And I found the deepest
kind of healing came
in setting it all down —
daring to show up
empty.
Without a solid sense
of a fragmented self
once held in place
by overthinking
and figuring out,
the pull was to seek out
quiet space
in which to transform
experience back into
prayer —
deeply honoring
all that was left
unresolved on the surface —
gently pointing
back to the space
within my heart
because there was
nothing left
to block the way.
And so
I loved
and feared
the silence —
until there was
nothing else.
I declare a truce,
a respite,
a little space
for healing —
here,
in the stillness
of my heart.
— Laurie, Heart Space
After a while,
it was most natural
to be the space
beyond words,
that strangely familiar place
where thought formed
out of nothingness
as quiet prayers
once known only
as far-away whispers
triggering some long-forgotten
memory of a time
when I was not
separate from the space
within my heart.
Once I vowed
to hold
this empty space
for as long
as it took —
until something
beautiful appeared.
That was before
I realized it was
this empty space
and this holding
that is most sacred
and beautiful.
Let me be
quiet
and empty —
that I might
hear the prayer
of my heart.
Amen
May we find courage
to stop looking outside
and within
for something
to hide what is
most pure —
that we may find
true and lasting love
in each moment —
in your heart and mine.
And may we find
strength to hold it
together.
Amen
At a certain point,
it seemed most fitting
to move in the direction
of emptiness.
And so I settled in
to the silence
within
and a gentler way
of being.
Laurie's Notes 