All poetry quoted is from David Whyte’s What to Remember When Waking. Essentials p. 52

“To become human
is to become visible
while carrying
what is hidden
as a gift to others.

What gift lies hidden within each of us. So much of the time to be ignored if not actively put away.

“You are not
a troubled guest
on this earth
you are not, an accident
amidst other accidents,
you were invited
from another and greater
night than the one
from which
you have just emerged.

How often do we measure our worth, indeed our reason for being – our personal why – by judging ourselves against the standards of other, their assumed greater importance or a value we attribute to others. Neglecting, hiding, ignoring or simply denigrating ourselves.

Lest we seem arrogant, pushy, prideful. (We all know what happens with pride – going before that oh-so-deserved fall.)

Plus, it frequently seems easier to stay within our hidden aspects, not giving anyone a “handle” to maim us.

“What shape
waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread
its branches
against a future sky?

For me right now, it seems incredibly difficult to hear my singular inner voice amidst the turmoil that is the current moment. It doesn’t actually matter your position or place on the violently adamant V that has replaced the bell curve of human behaviors, it is simply very, very hard to find the quiet to be.

“What you can plan
is too small
for you to live.
What you can live
wholeheartedly
will make plans
enough for the vitality
hidden in your sleep.”

In closing – a favorite blessing from John O’Donohue. One I keep on or by my computer and placemark what I am reading. Because this is the blessing and prayer I frequently give myself and send to all the world.

TO COME HOME TO YOURSELF
May all that is unforgiven in you
Be released.
May your fears yield
Their deepest tranquilities.
May all that is unlived in you
Blossom into a future Graced with love.

John O’Donohue To Bless the Space Between Us (pp. 97-98).

May this find its way into your heart and soul. Peace, Mariann

All poetry quoted above is from David Whyte’s poem What to Remember When Waking. Essentials pages 52-53.