Quiet Reflections and Prayers
Because I had felt
the subtle shifting
at the bottom
of my heart
and noticed
its reflection
outside of me,
I continued on —
keeping my focus
in my heart —
whispering,
feeling,
and being
that same quiet prayer
I had followed
so long ago —
when it was
all that was left.
Having found
my way back
to this sacred space,
this unspoken
silent prayer
I had longed for
in my heart
and in the world
around me
for so long,
there was really
nothing else to do
but continue on —
to hold this space
and to be it.
And so there was
a quieting —
a remembrance
of the everlasting
calm.
Tired hands were
closed in silent prayer
instead of busyness
that had once
carried them
away from
this place —
for which they
had searched
for so long.
Through a series
of small surrenders,
I began to linger
a little longer
just below the surface
where there was calm —
where sorting out
seemed to happen
a little more naturally —
somehow settling down
all that dared
to meet me
here, in my heart.
When we feel
most lost
and disconnected,
hold us steady.
Remind us we are
rooted firmly
and held
in a deeper place.
Amen
I learned
to ride the waves
of this life.
I learned not to try
so hard to hold on
to any particular thought
or feeling or form.
And I understood
the beauty within
this natural flow
that is me.
Help us to honor
and set down
the layers of stories
carried for so long
in our minds.
Help us to listen
and speak with
our hearts
again —
to know
the tenderness
in the silent spaces
we tried so hard
to fill
and in the pain
we tried to
so hard
to sort out.
May our own
unfolding steps
be reminders
of a gentler path.
Amen
May I meet
this world
and the noise
within
with the grace
of knowing
all parts of myself
and the silence
of my own
deepest heart —
underneath.
When I am tempted
to go a different way,
lead me gently
back.
Amen
What I found
wasn’t a perfectly
sorted life
resulting from
a neatly packaged
set of how to
do it.
It was,
to be honest,
the small moments
along a messy journey
connecting me
with those who
had found
that something deeper —
reminding me
to keep going
until I found them —
helping me to
notice them
once I did.
I stopped
needing to try
so hard
to be okay.
The need to
neatly sort
all of life
was replaced
by a peace
in holding
and letting go
of everything —
as a prayer.
Laurie's Notes 