Quiet Reflections and Prayers
I found journies of the heart
can be difficult.
It was easy to become
discouraged and a little more
difficult to feel my way forward
and through leftover debris from
early challenges
and to become willing to stand
alone with God.
Each time I felt I couldn’t take
another step,
life somehow showed
just enough tenderness
to inspire one more.
I found instant reprieve
in the exact moment
I returned my focus
to the space within my heart.
I learned it was enough
to focus on what was appearing
right in front of me,
allowing all that was past
to be released.
I learned to sense where
life was supporting me to be
in each moment
with a little more grace
and trust.
The was a gentle turning back
and dropping more deeply
into the space within my heart.
It was a concious surrender
to life itself
in each moment
as I learned to allow life
to flow more freely,
lost my footing,
and found my way back
again and again.
I let go,
trusting that wherever
the pieces fall will
be okay —
possibly even more
beautiful than if
I had tried to fit
them together
on my own.
— Laurie, What’s Right Here
I learned to look for the light in every experience, no matter how dark it looked at first glance. It meant being willing to not know exactly how situations would transform, while knowing they would in fact transform.
It meant being willing to be still in my heart and diligent with thoughts while daring to place my feet in the world of form.
There was a delicate softening — the transformation into tenderness. Tenderness spilled over again and again from the ever-present quiet prayer within my deepest heart.
The peace found in the space within my heart began to spill over — until the essence of every experience became a prayer.
What Now became
a way of being.
It took a bit of practice
to allow my mind
to relax into a place
of surrender to the prayer
within my heart
and to integrate parts of me
I had previously struggled
against.
But it was there hidden within
this place
that I found true healing
and peace.
And so the decision was made
to continue on.
There was no room
in that moment
for regret or any other
cluttering thought.
There was silent understanding
in each open heart
that the time had come
to listen a little more deeply
and speak a little more
intently from here.
Softening came
as I learned to
process life
in subtler ways —
feeling for wisdom
in all of my
experiences,
not sorting out
each one,
but listening with
my heart
beneath the stories
on the surface.
It was a welcome
shift from how it
had been
into finding and being
the healer within.
During times
of great shifting,
when emotions were
intense
and bodies
and minds tired
most easily
with each added thought
and moment of
learning,
I found it was
possible to return
my focus
to the stillness
within
and count every
single piece of
wisdom gained as valuable —
while being willing
to hold it
lightly —
remaining unafraid
to release all
into the creative space
I learned to
embrace again
and again,
each time a little more
completely,
as I continued on.
Laurie's Notes 