Trembling...and aflame

 

As it draws you to itself
What pleasure your suffering becomes.
Its fires are like water
Do not tense your face.
To be present in the soul is its work,
And to break your vows.
By its complex art
These atoms are trembling in their hearts.

~ Rumi ~

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The personal story with which this poem is linked is too alarming (and long) to share here. The story spans about six months of being in a deep and splitting darkness, and yet it was also part of a wake up call of sorts that brought me, both literally and metaphorically, into light.

Many of us have these sorts of stories, times when it is hard to wrap our heads around what happened and how we survived….or perhaps you are in one of these times now and don’t know which way is up or down, much less through and beyond.


Today I am grateful to be alive and here—
my heart aflame,
every atom trembling,
each day surrendering into
the potent vulnerability of presence.


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photos: me, Autum 2016. Sam’s Point Preserve, NY.