Quiet Reflections and Prayers
The more I listened to life, the more I noticed the part of me that could hold and let go of any experience. There was a softening each time I stood a little more firmly in my heart and dared to linger in the silent space.
Words formed out of this place soothed and echoed in places that had seemed unhealable. And there was tenderness where there had been only pain.
There were times when I sensed listening for inner resonance and trusting the quiet whisper of truth in each moment had become a little more important. I had learned the importance of stopping to listen to life and gained a respect for its mystery, but it was during these times when I was called more deeply within that I began to notice just how much I could soften my experience in the world and be in a state of listening prayer in any moment.
The new chosen path was an unbelievable contrast to the old. From the outside, it didn’t always appear to be all that different, but from the inside it was clearly new. Instead of being pulled under by thoughts and experiences, all that appeared in my mind and in the world was seen as raw pieces of one continuous prayer.
It took a little practice to become willing to walk a new path. Finding it meant reaching inside for the light needed to take each step. It meant remaining willing to listen to life and feel my way, even through uncomfortable experiences. It meant trusting a whisper of truth to become louder and the most chaotic experiences to soften and be used to create something beautiful, but not all at once and not all alone.
There was something about walking through a big enough challenge, the kind that forces the choice to go all the way, to put all cards on the table without a guarantee that it would be enough — trusting it would be met by a greater power.
And there was something about no longer needing such extreme challenges in order to live out this kind of deep surrender. At a certain point, every moment became a prayer of hope — that the path of tenderness might be a little clearer.
There was a tenderness in the careful merging of the most difficult, painfully raw parts of the journey with the equally raw beauty of having found a love pure enough to match it. It was this newly unfolding path I learned to trust in each moment with all my heart.
Help us to remember that underneath
all that appears is a quiet space —
where we know we are more than
the parts we play.
Remind us of the sacred art of healing
from within. Amen
It was comforting
to find
that somewhere
hidden safely beyond
whatever appeared
was something
a little purer.
It just took a moment
to adjust
to being without
so many added
layers of thought.
When the world seems
most noisy, point us to our
hearts. Speak through us,
reminding all parts of us of
our mission to reflect
what is within
into a world in need of
softening. Amen
I found there is
a prayer
within us all,
a whisper of hope
gently quieting our
hearts —
reaching through
old wounds and labels —
gathering pieces
of a gentler story
waiting to be
told.
Laurie's Notes 