Irrevocable Wholeness
Poems and Meditations to Hold it All
To Hold It All
Yes we carry it all
as a bird, its own feathers
every one received, needed to fly
As a tree, each ring spirals from its center
telling the story of your life
what happened, where and when
the delicate lines drawn
one inside another inside another inside another.
Here a joy, there denotes a sorrow
this knot smudged here, a dark cavern of pain
these spaces are filled with love
the intelligence of silvery silky birch bark
to softly protect, continually renewed
from strength within
You are made to withstand
to hold it all
at first we think we cannot
then we expand
stretch in miraculous ways
we never imagined.
Affirmation
I am capable, strong, and powerful enough to expand and hold all I am given.
May I trust my inner-knowing to discern what is mine to hold, when to say no, and when to let go.
Deep Rest
How long have you carried the weight of the world on your shoulders
fueled by the adrenaline of your own resilience
How much armor have you built up around your being
inside your own beautiful body
this tightly spun tension to survive the world
How often have you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps
been applauded, awarded, admired for your strength
How many ways do you quiet the whispers of knowing
ignore the powerful ancient cry of deep rest
momma bear spirit within, wise grandmother ancestors,
healers, heart of creation
You do not only have to be resilient
You do not only need to survive
You do not have to be strong all of the time
You are enough just as you are
May you lay your sweet head down for a while
return to the Mother of us all
be carried on her warm, strong back
You are worthy of care
allow yourself to be held
draw from this deep well of peace
You deserve to be
filled with this primal love
protected
your life depends on it
This is the resistance
This is the revolution
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is not exactly
as you imagined
not a clean slate
no exoneration
A lifting
a ceremony of smoke
from dried cedar leaves
vanishes
morning fog burned off the city fades
revealing every contour of the horizon
From this distance it takes your breath away
you see every ugly gouge clearly
every natural disaster of your life
did not destroy this beauty
And those tender places
that will never be the same
happened out of woundedness
theirs, yours
out of this humanness
that starts in love
and this love
is in us all
Affirmation
I open myself to forgiveness with the distance and perspective
that I may see clearly how human it is to hurt one another from our woundedness.
I touch the sacred space in my being undestroyed, beautiful, and whole
regardless of transgressions against me.
Lacuna
Healing is the steady
shifting of seasons
the great wheel of life turning
and churning
forward
indiscriminate of
the ugly, the beautiful
the in-between
taking it all in
The body of the earth
with her thick dark soil
honors all that is given
What if we too see
life’s offerings like this
cracked egg shell
peach pit
flower petals
rotten strawberries
rancid moldy apple
sharp to the touch
stinging our eyes
received as nourishment
understanding the time
and effort
it takes to decompose
soften, crumble
become one with us
transforming to
miraculous fertile ground
to sweet possibility
Affirmation
I receive the profound offerings of my life.
No matter how sharp, painful, and unbearable,
I trust in the acceptance of what has been given
to transform me in beautiful and unexpected ways.
The Grandmother of the World
A single song
can floor you then lift you up
as if by strings
until you levitate
and know you are held
(never alone)
in an invisible ocean
of Love
A walk through the woods
steady footsteps
a metronome
a sway back and forth
rewiring your brain
for what is good and beautiful
rocking in great Mama’s arms
the sunlight funneling through trees
drawing delicate lace patterns
on everything she touches
the thick sturdy
dark brown bark of trees
rough against your hands
the smell of lake, of pine
of bonfire smoke
Affirmation
I am held in an invisible ocean of Love, never alone.
May I be open and venture into the world to notice and receive
the gifts of the tiny miraculous moments that are everywhere.
Beloved
You are divinely loved beyond reason
exactly as you are
You come from the source of Love
and are always held in that Love
You are Love and Love is you
You may chase Love in circles
as a dog chases its own tail
not realizing what you so desperately seek
already belongs to you
Instead be still
be
Beloved
Affirmation
I am loved and lovable
I am Beloved
Paintings by Sarah Brokke | sarahbrokke.wordpress.com