Recently, I participated in a silent meditation retreat.
Three days of dedicated practice with a 100 people, all holding an intention of mindfulness and compassion.
I had space to feel all the feels. Loss, sadness, gratitude, fear, love, and belonging. An internal gentleness is needed to process complex emotions.
During the retreat, I heard a poem written by former US poet laureate, Joy Harjo. Here are a few powerful lines:
“Call your spirit back. It may be caught in the corners and creases of shame, judgment, and human abuse.
You must call in a way that your spirit will want to return.
Speak to it as you would to a beloved child.
Welcome your spirit back from its wandering. It may return in pieces, in tatters. Gather them together. They will be happy to be found after being lost for so long.”
All of us are calling our spirits back; pulling together our tatters and making them whole; inviting ourselves to live more fully.
We’ve been through stunning grief, stress, and difficulty. Our hearts are tender; our spirit caught in corners and creases. When we call it back, we must be kind.
Our spirit must want to return. So, how can we cultivate joy? How can we let go of pain? How can we laugh and dance?
Your spirit wants to return.
Be patient.
Speak with kindness.
Receive as much as you give.
Accept yourself just as you are.
Be brave enough to step back into the world.
Pause, breathe, and begin again.
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