Quiet Reflections and Prayers
When there is much
to sort through,
when we are tempted
to contract —
to pick up old habits
of playing small,
remind us
of the wholeness
we are.
Show us the tenderness
at our core
and right in front of us.
Give us courage
to be this space
of wholeness,
unfolding simultaneously
in these human forms.
Thank you.
Amen
When we have reached
the place
where words can’t go,
when we seem
most separated
by time and distance,
when the way through
all that stands between us
can’t be seen
and all that is known
is the next needed step,
let us remember
the quiet,
often silent prayers,
that led us that far
and continue on.
Amen
It’s the stillness
I return to,
where thought arises
in the moment,
taking on a
deeper meaning
beyond thinking —
where each part flowes
into the next,
and I am whole.
— Laurie, What’s Right Here
I found a place of
stillness within —
reflected first
outside of me
in others who stood
in the center
of their own hearts.
I found great beauty
in the vulnerability
and strength
it took to stand
in that place,
to listen —
to show up
with a natural
compassion for self
and other
and the pure intent
to hold
what was there.
Because I had tired
of the endless searching,
I dared to go
to the edge —
past the pieces
I had tried to fit
together and arrange,
beyond the chaos
on the surface
and below,
not giving up,
not waiting for
one more minute
or one more
reason to turn back —
determined to
find my way
to the very center
of my heart
in that very moment —
where there was calm.
In the calmest part
of my heart,
that which
in all the shattering
couldn’t be broken,
there is solace —
here.
— Laurie, What’s Right Here
Reaching in
to the core
of who I am,
there is nothing
to add
or practice
or improve.
Self-love
is the natural state —
forgotten and remembered.
— Laurie, What’s Right Here
When there was
nothing left to do
but continue on,
when my spirit
became tired,
I remembered
the subtle notes,
the endess quiet prayer
from a deeper place
beyond what could
be seen
or understood —
carefully set in place
and held safely
within my heart
and yours.
I found I could hold
what seemed to be
the most extreme opposites,
the deepest pain
and the most tender —
all the pieces
I couldn’t have sorted
as the me
I once thought
I was.
And so
life continued on —
with all of its
ups and downs
and winding story lines.
But I never forgot
or let go
of the peace I had found
at its core.
Laurie's Notes 