Poetry Night and Epilogue ...

This evening was the first night of a loosely organized poetry sharing. From 7:30-9:00 pm at which any of the community members could come and go, listening and/or sharing poetry. I shared the only poem I knowingly ever wrote, along with a collective poem that I had written one line of. It was a wonderful way to spend my evening, so different from a familiar routine I had of clicking on the TV and sitting mindlessly staring at the electrons beaming my way.

Engaging our hearts, our minds, and our spirits ... thinking deeply ... wondering, pondering, exploring new and old words and ideas.

We ended the evening with Epilogue lead by Friends sojourning from the Portland, OR area who will be leaving us in the morning after the rise of our morning Meeting for Worship. They sharied two piece of writing from the author John O'Donohue and his book "To Bless the Space Between Us". Below are both of the pieces they shared ... the first captured in words many of my thoughts and feelings as I travel thru this threshold into a new beginning ... its entitled,

For a New Beginning

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)

The second is entitled,

For Presence

Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to
follow its path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of
soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek
no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven
around the heart of wonder.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

Thanks to David and Kate for leading our Epilogue this evening ...