how do you ride the downswings?
i have this tendency to get lost in the shadows, to sink down with the setbacks and panic when life balances out all of the beauty and sweetness with long nights and darker days. i forget about balance. i forget that yin can be heavy and sticky and while sometimes terrifying, still safe. still okay. still necessary. i lose my grip on gratitude and feel stuck when the truth is that i’m just merging through a slow spot. (‘keep your eyes on the road’) • and there is much to learn from these trying times-- the most profound lessons are always found in the darkness. i have to tell my heart: we won’t be on this road forever. day will break again soon (it always does). and then, i’ll see through the tall trees and realize that i’m always held in love. everything will be okay. everything is already perfect.
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A little while ago, on Instagram, I asked for poetry requests; I received a whole bunch and wrote as many little poems for you as I could. I had lots of fun doing this - let me know if it's something I should continue on a more regular basis! Open Landscape for Lexi I know this is supposed to feel like freedom, but I’m having trouble breathing; I’ve always needed a point of reference to keep me from drifting away with my fears. Space is nothing more than possibility, so why does it make me feel so small? Scent Memory for Roslyn there are certain scents so inextricably linked to our memories that they allow us to relive them, if only for a moment. some of my most frequent and powerful scent memories come from anything that smells like a My Little Pony toy from the 80s and 90s this is never the source but it doesn’t seem to matter-- the scent triggers something like internal time travel and suddenly I’m back in my four-year-old body haikus by request (anger.water.stillness) for Aly anger it’s not encouraged for women to be angry though sadness is fine water i want to learn how to move like the river does not forcing a thing stillness underneath all of the chaos and the chatter it is always there Healing Addictions for CJ it is our fractured parts: the unresolved pain, the uncomfortable things we look away from, the unloved, rejected parts all the places we’ve been hurt and have not healed, the shadowy corners and the wounded animal parts that lead us to our samskaras these are the walls that are built taller and stronger with every intention and action: a fortress of habits and patterns we become trapped by addiction but never lost-- there is a way back, beyond the samskara walls and it is this journey of dismantling (so raw and brutal, so necessary) that clears the way for an unclouded view of the Self when we see who we truly are we cannot help but love the divinity resting within, once trapped and obscured from view, but never lost. Moving From Dark to Light
for Jes it’s the grey area we find so terrifying when moving from darkness to light there are many meetings between the Shadow Side and the True Self here, epic battles, muted resistance and there is a fire that always needs to be stoked if the Self is to find a way back home you can’t burn up your karma in this one but you can raise it up to light your path proof of love
proof of devotion to my heart’s purpose proof of meeting my fears over and over and never backing away proof of life proof of the power in my existence proof of something bigger bringing me back here over and over and pushing me to grow stronger proof of hope proof of that undying fire that burns in the center of my belly fueling my love for all parts of this practice proof of resilience proof of keeping that promise I made to my soul at birth (to always follow my own path) and trusting that the journey is guided by some higher dharma it’s in these small, simple moments-- the decision to arrive, the laying out of the mat, the intentional meeting of my feet at the front line, ready for another beautiful battle that i’m reminded of the incomparable power of this practice in my life-- this is my proof of purpose if you ever
feel unloved: bring one hand to your heart and the other to your centre. close your eyes. inhale deeply and honour that breath. feel your heart beating, for you - carrying you forward with a rhythm that's all your own. don't rush the breath out of your body; soften every part of yourself. feel the energy within your body and be with your breath. remind yourself of the power of your breath - the strength of your body - and the tenderness of your heart. your love grows where your energy goes. you have the support of the entire universe. you are alive; you are loved. Sophie
We danced together beside a sacred river, hand in hand, strangers. I could feel the wisdom of years of heartache but a life well lived about her. Kind, soft, open - She was divine. And she made me feel safe. And loved. I'm Sophie. Are you okay? She asked. She knew. And these were the only words spoken. We danced until our breath became short and punctuated with uncomfortable laughter. A beloved yoga guru calls out from nearby: Now stare into the eyes of the other. Don't look away. I was sweating. I was afraid that she could see my fear and would be disappointed. But I didn't look away. The longer I looked into Sophie's eyes, the more I began to see my own. The more I began to see all of us; A universe in the eyes of a stranger. Something inside me was ready to surrender. An energetic shift, A new lightness of being. And after this beautiful cosmic interference, this meeting of souls, in this dance of pure love, I never saw her again. But Sophie, my dear, I will meet you in another universe And we will remind one another. Again. |