Dear shame and doubt,
I hold a knowing that is deeper than what's palpable.
And although you seem to protect me from pain,
Unimaginable,
I know there's more meaning in you.
It's slowly becoming legible.
I'm here to refine my heart's vocabulary,
To see what hurts more clearly,
So I can perceive this pain as my own treasured healing.
I'm here to stay with myself,
To hold myself close.
I'm here to practice courage and quietly let go of righteousness,
Hurtfulness,
Doubt,
Complacency,
To learn how to navigate all this emotionality with care,
With judiciousness,
With gratitude,
Intelligently.
I'm here to grow my prayers into relations with my own conscience,
My own integrity.
I'm here to fully participate in my reality.
May we remind ourselves that what hurts is a luminous teaching.
May we untangle that pain from the majesty of our being.
May the fullness and the emptiness begin opening and expanding.
May this love,
This dedication,
This place of peace be our softest landing.
May we remember that our actions have an impact on all of humanity.
And may we say what's been unsaid with kindness,
With dignity.
May the next breath carry us home again and again,
Instantly.
Take one deep breath.
Take another deep breath.
Take another deep breath.