Quiet Reflections and Prayers
At a certain point,
I found
that projecting myself
any further into
the future
than that very moment
was not something
I could afford to do
any longer.
And so I prepared
as best I could
for the unknown.
And as I had done
before,
in a moment
of absolute truth,
I vowed to show up
in that moment
and the next
and trust
that my willingness
to risk
would be met.
And I knew
I would never
leave the prayer
that began
in that moment
of truth.
I honor each
heart that has
shown up
to find its own
true voice
at a time
when so much
is being
transformed.
I honor the sacred
journey each one
must travel
alone
in order
to come together
in a new way.
I honor those
who hold a space
for me
to sort through
all that is in need
of sorting.
I honor
this journey
in my own heart.
And I hold this space
for those
just beginning.
Amen
Sometimes prayers
become wordless —
when there are
a million words
in the heart,
but not one
to match
the rawness
of emotion felt.
And so I offer
my deepest silent
prayer
to the place
of peace
in us all
in this moment
and the next.
And I honor
our steps
as we find our way.
Amen
Let me honor
the parts of me
that cry out.
Let me be
the place of calm
that knows
the deepest kind
of silence,
includes all emotion
and holds
all of it.
Amen
I began to have
a different relationship
with my experiences.
They had become
precious pieces
within a deeper flow,
a way to listen
to life
that led most gently
back to the silent
reverence
within my own
untamed heart.
As if by candlelight
and following
a whispered prayer,
I set out
to find my heart again.
Determined as I was
to mark the path,
I held that light
a little higher
somewhere along the way.
And in that instant,
it seemed it wasn’t
that we had strayed
so far,
but that we had forgotten
we could change
the lighting
of this place.
I honor
each heart
that has dared
to search
for its own
true voice.
May we be
a little more
of who we are —
naturally.
Amen
I found wholeness
to be a continuous,
embracing prayer
to and from
the tender place
within my deepest heart.
It included
all parts,
all emotions,
and all struggles.
It included the most
challenging parts
to love
and showed itself
in each moment —
when I was brave enough
to listen
and when I was
afraid.
I love you
in this exact moment,
in this exact state
with all of the things
you would change
or improve.
You are loved
and held.
You are okay
no matter what.
And you are this
Love.
Amen
I learned to listen
with my heart,
to experience
what was right there
in front of me,
and to trust
the natural response
to arise
as a prayer —
somehow, mysteriously
sinking
down into all the places
I had tried so hard
to reach.
Laurie's Notes 