Lately I've been finding it hard to settle in myself. I am. . . antsy, unfocused, reluctant to do the things I know are good for me, tempted to go down the youtube rabbit hole of endless news and commentary. Then, yesterday, I received a book of poetry, and something in me stopped. . . opened. . . and I took a long slow breath. One of the poems was this one, a favourite of mine. I'm just going to leave it here with a wonderful sunrise photo from Karen Davis at Open Door Dreaming on Facebook. Hopefully, if you need a pause, a breath, a moment to remember what you know in your deepest being, it will help you as it helped me. ~Oriah
Things to Think by Robert Bly
Think in ways you've never thought before.
If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message
Larger than anything you've ever heard,
Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.
Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,
Maybe wounded and deranged; or think that a moose
Has risen out of the lake, and he's carrying on his antlers
A child of your own whom you've never seen.
When someone knocks on the door, think that he's about
To give you something large: tell you you're forgiven,
Or that it's not necessary to work all the time, or that it's
Been decided that if you lie down no one will die.
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Beautiful. Thank you, Oriah.
ReplyDeleteBonito y necesario en estos tiempos.
ReplyDeleteMuchas gracias <3
so good to see you
ReplyDelete❤
ReplyDelete🥰
ReplyDeleteThank you..
ReplyDeleteThank you for your courage once to reach out and send your words out reaching other souls.
A friend of mine gifted me "The invitation".. and I could not stop reading it for days.. slowly reading chapter by chapter, sometimes reading sentences again again and again.
And then you did got started me writing...
For the first time it felt as I did not written from the top of my head, but from the bottom of my soul.
Thank you for this gift you have invited me
So glad you enjoyed The Invitation- and nothing pleases me more than hearing that reading something I wrote inspired someone to write! Yay! Keep writing :)
DeleteThank you. I do write poetry since I have been 15 years old.
DeleteBut it wasn't writing from the heart - before I did the first the writing meditiation in your book that I did write more from the head.
Just some days ago I did write the following poem - inspired by a friend, and come alive due to your book.
You matter.
You matter because you are here.
You matter.
If you believe it or don’t believe it.
Your matter.
You matter to those people close to you and to people you might only have met once in your life. And you matter to people you might never met.
You matter
as you have spoken words of hope and words from the heart, words of healing and words of reconciliation.
You matter
You might not know it, but
things which you have done or said or even things you denied doing or words you never said mattered.
You matter.
They say that the wings of the butterfly �� can cause a hurricane .
How much bigger are your wings. How much bigger can be your impact.
You matter.
Just give yourself freedom
To follow the clouds
Moving with the wind
And see how the sun set the sky aflame.
Even if some laundry �� waits to get cleaned or some shelves nag to your inner voices to be dusted.
You matter.
Your moments matter.
Work will wait for you so go follow the rainbow �� as it won’t.
YOU MATTER!
Lovely Heiko- and I particularly love the line about waiting laundry and dusty shelves. :) Oriah
DeleteThank you.
DeleteThere is always something to clean up and which keeps our heads busy and keep our souls away from relieving so it seems... Laundry and shelves ;)
Hello Oriah,
ReplyDeleteWhere can we purchase a printed version of the poem “the invitation”?
Thank you kindly,
Iris
Iris, I did sell a poster of the piece many years ago but have not done so for a long time. I am okay with folks making one for their own use or to give as a gift. Sorry I can't be more helpful, Oriah
DeleteThank you kindly Oriah.
DeleteHow do I keep posted of any future workshops or events you are hosting?
We are in Vancouver BC :)
Iris
Iris- just send your email address to me at mail@oriah.org and I will put you on the mailing list :)
DeleteYou and I
ReplyDeleteYou and I are made of stardust.
You and I are an eclectic precious of this universe.
You and I have a beating heart which seems to never rest.
You and I inhale and exhale again and again.
You and I are part of the ocean walking on land.
You and I are made of bones, flesh and our blood is always the same red.
You and I know hunger and thirst, the happiness of a first bite and the joy of a sip of cold water
You and I know fatigue and commotion and the pleasure of waking up after sleep and finding a place to rest at the end of the day.
You and I know loneliness the comfort of tenderness, of not being good enough and struggling with life.
You and I know the joy of being alive and to be loved.
You and I share the same planet, same time, same experiences.
You and I are only divided
by ideas in our heads and spaces we’re we living in.
You and I are divided by borders created in our minds, drawn on maps and solidified in concrete and barbed wire.
You and I are divided by languages we learn as we have been kids, and seem to block understanding.
You and I are divided by religions which teach us that any who is praying to a different name must be going to hell.
You and I we create our own divisions , segregation, groups and sections and castes and rules we suffer from.
You and I we have a Choice.
You and I we can choose union instead of division.
We can choose.
As We are U and I and we are one.
I suddenly felt concerned. I had not seen a post from you on Facebook in quite a while, so I searched and you were no longer there. I’m happy to see you here, and I am sending you the brightest warm blessings of gratitude. ~with love
ReplyDeleteSaw one of your posts on my memories page on FB and wanted to check on you to see how you are doing now that you are no longer on social media. I think you are a phenomenal person and I wish you well during this holiday season and all the days to follow. In this season of gratitude I am grateful for your presence and your words. During the holiday season I rejoice in you and all you have given us. Continue to take care of you and to stay safe. Please know how much you are cared for and wished well. I will keep you uplifted in prayer always.
ReplyDeleteThank you Angela. I am well and being very quiet :)
DeletePlease don’t be that quite!!!
DeleteIt’s been a long time I have not heard from you. I miss you a lot! Thinking about you a lot! Love you a lot!🤗
Mai I simply say "I miss you". Rest.
ReplyDeleteDear Oriah, thinking of you today. Thank you for sharing this gorgeous poem and sunrise. 💜🙏💙
ReplyDeleteDear Oriah, So grateful and touched by your writings, and I send my heart's caring to you wherever you are. Tonight I found something of yours that I had printed in 2004, "Moments of Grace", and I share these closing words: "I am not interested in spirituality that cannot encompass my humanness. Because beneath the small daily trials are harder paradoxes, things the mind cannot reconcile but the heart must hold if we are to live fully: profound tiredness and radical hope; shattered beliefs and relentless faith; the seemingly contradictory longings for personal freedom and a deep commitment to others, for solitude and intimacy, for the ability to simply be with the world and the need to change what we know is not right about how we are living."
ReplyDeleteHello dear Oriah ♡ Just felt like commenting here, as your writing, your gifts and energy came up for me so strongly today. I felt like saying Thank You for how your words and poetic medicine has been a soul balm for me throughout the years. In deep gratitude, and wishing you all the best ~
ReplyDeleteI miss your wise words on the blog especially in those trying times. I hope you are well and selfishly hope for me that you will post soon again. Much Love and many Hugs, Sabine ❤️🥰
ReplyDeleteDear Oriah, on a beautiful September day, I join others in wishing you well - health, peace and joy in each day. 🥰 Catherine
ReplyDeleteDear Oriah, I purchased The Invitation in 2008 when going through divorce after 25 years together. Your wisdom touched my soul and helped me build a new life. A copy of the poem has been on may wall. I've moved many times and happily remarried. But misplaced my book. I ordered audio book to listen and refresh. I hope that you are well. My ex and his partner are part of our extended family. We celebrate holidays and birthdays together. Being our authentic selves makes this possible. You were a big part of that growth. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDear Oriah, thank you for your lovely poetry. I don’t know if you will see this post, but I want to tell you how much courage and faith your poetry has given me. The invitation was read to me by someone I love deeply, and I did not realise that I loved him until he read your poem out to me. It took me a long while to believe in love again after my divorce, but your poetry had a special magic that awakened something deep within me, and it gave me strength to believe in love and believe in myself again. The man who read me your poem knows not my feelings for him, but I hope to muster the strength to tell him my feelings soon, and invite him into the fire with me. I choose to believe in love, all over again because love is the only reality we truly know. Thank you Oriah, and I hope that you are doing well. Be well.
ReplyDeleteThank you Shermaine, Oriah
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