A PAUSE: For Stillness, Quiet, Rest, and Reflection
A moment just for you. Winter Solstice, Three curated poems: "A Blessing For Traveling In The Dark, An excerpt from "Pilgrim God, " For A New Beginning," and Breathing Space...
Greetings, Friends:
Tomorrow, Dec 21, 2022, we mark the winter solstice. It is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight in the entire year, making it the “shortest day” of the year. Thankfully, after we reach the winter solstice, the days will once again grow longer until we reach the summer solstice with the most hours of sunlight. But the gifts of winter and darkness are not to be missed. Below I share three poems as we ease into winter together and root down to the inner chambers of our hearts. Winter is the ideal season for self-reflection. I thought we all could use some quiet, rest, and reflection this week.
A Blessing For Traveling In The Dark by Jan Richardson
Go slow
if you can.
Slower.
More slowly still.
Friendly dark
or fearsome,
this is no place
to break your neck
by rushing,
by running,
by crashing into
what you cannot see.
Then again,
it is true:
different darks
have different tasks,
and if you
have arrived here unawares,
if you have come
in peril
or in pain,
this might be no place
you should dawdle.
I do not know
what these shadows
ask of you,
what they might hold
that means you good
or ill.
It is not for me
to reckon
whether you should linger
or you should leave.
But this is what
I can ask for you:
That in the darkness
there be a blessing.
That in the shadows
there be a welcome.
That in the night
you be encompassed
by the Love that knows
your name.
TAKE YOUR DEEPEST BREATH OF THE DAY. FILL YOUR LUNGS AND SLOWLY EXHALE WITH GREAT TENDERNESS.
An excerpt from S.E Reid’s Pilgrim God: Third Tuesday of Advent:
do we cling
to God?
or does God cling
to us?
it could be
some sacred combination,
some mixture of the two;
that closeness
of bark and lichen
moss and stone,
the sweetness
the rightness
of being
together.
— S.E Reid’s Advent book, Pilgrim God, can b downloaded for free HERE it for free HERE!
PLACE YOUR HAND ON YOUR HEART, TAKE ANOTHER BREATH, AND GIVE YOURSELF A FEW MOMENTS OF PURE AFFECTION.
For a New Beginning - John O’Donohue
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
- John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us
I bless the space between us that connects us even now, at this very moment, while you are reading.
Finally, I think that this meme bears repeating this week…
Take extra good care of yourself, my friends. I hope you will make time for quiet and soul connection and ease in the midst of busy days. Blessings from my heart to yours.
xo Mary
A portion of December’s paid subscriptions goes to The Murphy Center For Hope. It is both a container and direct provider of services, partnering with dozens of agencies so that people who face homelessness are welcomed, safe, and supported in Northern Colorado.
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Thank you for the poems, especially the last one. It speaks to my current circumstances perfectly and I needed to read it.
Beautiful writings - in the spirit of winter as beauty. Yesterday, I was listening to the radio (like the bear), and the announcer updated the weather forecast, saying: "cold, cloudy, snow on the ground and a wintry mix in the air - absolutely beautiful". Not what I expected, but after thinking about it, it was the best forecast I have ever heard!