12.9.2024. Night time. Womb-time.
There is NO In-Person Metta Meditation Practice Today
Off leading a One-day Embodiment Retreat: Awaken Your Yes
with Courtney Riley & Megan Dunne Krouse
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Vincent van Gogh said to Theo, his brother:
“The night is more alive and richly colored than the day.”
When did the dark, darkness, the dark rich night get linked to loss of light, desolate and bleak. Become something cloaked, shadowy and hidden from knowledge. Turn to ruinous, tragic, and conducive to hopelessness. When did the inky-night become looming with the wicked and heinous, a force in the world with the intent to harm.
When did we forget the dark as refuge, a traveling Bedouin wandering in the desert, pitching her tent for the night, gazing upwards at the star studded dark-sky, falling asleep to the sound of awe.
When did we forget the reverence in our bones, a monk walking into a ribbed-vaulted medieval cathedral illumined by beeswax candles aglow.
And then there is his painting, Carravagio’s The Conversion on the Way to Damascus, striking me breathless, awakening my soul with its contrasting brush strokes of light and dark, unbiased. Saul transformed to St. Paul. Fallen from his horse, struck blind by a light no one saw. Struck whole-holy by a voice no one heard.
“The world rests in the night. Trees, mountains, fields, and faces are released from the prison of shape and the burden of exposure. Each thing creeps back into its own nature within the shelter of the dark. Darkness is the ancient womb. Nighttime is womb-time. Our souls come out to play. The darkness absolves everything; the struggle for identity and impression falls away. We rest in the night.”
―John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
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So grateful we are here, together. May the offerings be balm for your heart.
Love,
Wini
🌸 Below, lovely offerings for your Heart: 2 Poems. 3 Quotes. 2 Inspirations. 1 Poem to Inspire. 1 Closing Song.
🌸 Two Poems to Share.
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking | Emily Dickinson
If I can stop one heart
from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life
the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Wild | Emory Hall
let the wilderness in.
grow a forest for a heart.
make your very blood
a salve
of pine
and open sky.
be the air
that birds come to sing in.
the water
that even rivers seek.
// wild
🌿 Give a listen here, exquisite.
🌸 Three Quotes | Antonie de Saint-Exupéry. John Astin. Wayne Muller.
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
—Antonie de Saint-Exupéry
“Every instant is the unpredictable, uncontrollable flowering of life.” — John Astin, The Nature of Now
“Be willing to be surprised. Life may already be more miraculous than you ever imagined.” — Wayne Muller author of Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives
🌸 SOMETHING TO INSPIRE | Two Tender Instagram Posts ✨
ONE. A 2-min video with a great takeaway at the end. Posted on @liveitallbetter and then a dear friend sent it to me, reposted on Maria Shiver’s site @mariashriver. That tells you something (right..). It is speaking to something that resonates deep in the bones, deeper than baking an orange sponge cake for decades. Watch here
🌿 ps. a good one to send onto your move a dead body friends, meaning your besties)
TWO. A singer whose eyes were opened. The best audiences, these shy and sensitive beings, and how animals react to music. We Love Animals Watch here.
🌸 A POEM TO INSPIRE BEYOND | I Am a Blessing by Lisa Nigro
I am a Blessing….a Beatitude….a Benediction
I am made from stardust
With the breath of God
My God, the one who knit me
Longed for me
Who still cherishes me
I am a Blessing….a Beatitude…..a Benediction
I am fully loved and made of wonder
I am an invocation and an Amen
I hold a promise and a light that beams in all directions
I am a Blessing…a Beatitude….a Benediction
All of these are antonyms of the word Burden
Of which I am not.
My birth story will not contain that word
I always hoped you could have seen the antonyms in me
knowing that each child carries a secret code of blessing
When you look up the word Burden in the dictionary
It’s also used to describe a chorus of a song
I am part of that song
the chorus of birds and wind and of love whispering
Sometimes blessings aren’t always light
They can be complicated and messy and used to find your zone of genius
Which is what happened for me
I used this word to change the world
To uplift others to bring more nourishment and life
May you find that too
We are a Blessing…a Beatitude…a Benediction
We are made of stardust
With the breath of God
We are cherished
And wanted
And loved.
🌿 If you don't know my friend Lisa Nigro. She is someone to know. Her heart is gorgeous-sacred beyond. Following her on instagram is good medicine for your heart and soul. She is a truth speaker and heart tenderer.
She has two accounts: @lisanigro & @caregivingnaturally, “a midwest Mama & FT Caregiver to my adult son with a brain injury. I love exploring and using wellness tools from the natural world.” And now a poet too.
May we all find our zone of genius.
May we know we are made of stardust by the breath of the Divine,
cherished, wanted and loved.
🌿
🌸 Closing Song | May I Be Empty by Batya Levine
May I be empty
And open to receive the light
May I be empty
And open to receive
May I be full
And open to receive the light
May I be full
And open to receive
Listen to here on Spotify (1:47 min)
Listen here on YouTube (1:47 min)
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🌸 So Grateful You Are Part of This Community. 🌿 Thank you for being here!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please feel free to share it with someone who might need dollops of goodness for their heart.
This Metta Newsletter is a Love-offering
✨ an offering to bloom more Light
💞 more Goodness
🌎 more gorgeous-tenderness on our planet.
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…Until next week. 💖 ✨
