anything can be poetry if you're brave enough.
child
no matter how deeply
you have been wounded
remember:
one day a seed
will come along
take root exactly
where it hurts the most
slumber
in darkness until
you open up
and allow enough light
to reach it;
once you do that
nothing will stop
its furious
motion
its transformation
of dark matter
into something altogether
unexpected.
if you would know
the secret to healing
it is this:
the answer
lies not
in despair.
good news
for the hopeless:
to set an intention
means to plan
for hope
even if
especially if
you don’t feel it yet;
to set an intention
means to plan
for faith
not because you feel it
but because you dare;
intention
comes from the Latin
for stretch
& set
is an old word
for sit;
so
to set an intention
is to sit with yourself
no matter how hopeless
burned out
weary
even faithless
you feel.
& as you sit with yourself
& all of your pain
in time you may find
your spirit moves
stretches
reaches
through it
in a way that can only
be described as
miraculous.
so sit with yourself
dear one
& reach.
99% of the time
you need to push yourself
to make better choices
but 1% of the time
you need to feel what you feel
& just give in.
maybe it’s not so much that everything happens for a reason
but that you can make a reason out of everything that happens.
maybe it’s a relief to be unhappy
because trying to be happy all the time is exhausting.
maybe there’s a place beyond happiness and unhappiness.
not between.
not in the middle.
BEYOND.
BEYOND = accepting both happiness and unhappiness.
they are part of every day.
expect them.
you don’t have to welcome them.
you don’t have to be glad to see your old friend unhappiness.
but if you’re upset, be upset.
if you need to cry, cry.
maybe if you allow them to be there
your tears will dissolve.
remember, your tears won’t dissolve into happiness.
don’t fall into that trap—
doing your spiritual work and still waiting for perfect happiness.
my hope for you is that you come to a place where you’re unhappy—
and THAT’S OKAY.
you haven’t done anything wrong
unless being human is wrong.
do not mistake peace for happiness.
peace is not a utopian state of ecstasy, pleasure or even comfort.
peace “goes beyond understanding.”
i can tell you this much—you know it when you feel it.
your heart settles
and your body is lighter.
gravity is less of a burden.
and even if things aren’t good, they’re still alright.
no matter what, my hope for you
is that you find a place inside yourself
BEYOND yourself
where you can finally rest.
sadness contains a kernel
of sweetness;
fear a crumb
of truth;
& anger an ember
lighting the way forward.
face to face with the sky 