7 Closing Reflections
My personal and professional experiences are teaching me that whole and healthy living, healing, learning, and relating calls us to bring our whole selves … heart, mind, body, and spirit … to all that we do and everyone we encounter. While it is humanly impossible to consistently do so, we know when we ‘get it right’… when we share sacred moments wherein we feel balanced and whole enough to be fully present to our circumstances and relationships in transparent, genuine and deeply caring ways … whether in hard times or happy. In those transcendent moments we can sense deep within our entire being that we have touched one another’s spirits in ways that foster wholeness and healing, regardless of what may lie ahead.
In the spirit of ‘bringing my whole self’ to this book, I would like to close by sharing two poetic reflections that I hope speak to your spirit. They have arisen from my own journey as a health care consumer, family member, care provider, educator, and writer. The latter has proved to be pivotal in my own health and healing. I firmly believe that, indeed, creativity is a universal spiritual need that each of us can find our own unique way of meeting; perhaps we even have to in times of adversity. Whether it’s creativity in our every day coping or in the ways we share ourselves with others, I am convinced that surprisingly beautiful innovations can unfold when compassion and self-compassion nurture them into being.
In gratitude for all that I have received in support of my own and my loved ones’ healing and wholeness, I have regularly shared these particular poems with others in support of their spiritual journeys. I would like to do the same here. I also invite you to freely share either of these poems if you discern that they can offer solace or inspiration in support of another’s well-being.
The first is an affirmation for times of pain and uncertainty …
May You Rise
May You Rise
My thoughts are centered there with you –
I know you’re hurting now
And I need to know the care I feel
Can be sent your way somehow.
And I know it’s not my path to walk
And I know you’ll find your way
But I need to know you’ll find some peace
As you walk along today.
May you rest with trusted ones
Who bring a sense of calm.
May nurturing and care surround
And bring true healing balm.
Ya, I know you can’t avoid the pain
And I know with pain there’s grace
But I need to know you’re being held
In a safe and healing place.
And may you find the strengths you know
That help you to sustain
And may you find a sense of hope
That helps you rise again
And may you rise with wisdom
And may you rise with Gifts
That help you walk the road ahead
With a Spirit that uplifts.
May you rise with wisdom
And may you rise with Gifts
That help you walk the road ahead
With a spirit that uplifts.
And this one is a grateful affirmation of the Sacred in every part of daily life …
(In the poem, ‘You’ refers to the Sacred as each reader experiences it. For example, I capitalize the word ‘Sacred’ because I experience it as something amazing and precious that I want to address with deepest reverence. Others might find that an entirely different word or image speaks truth to your experience.)
Centre
You are the rest that rises gently
When the heavy load’s laid down,
The cooling drink that freshens
When deep thirst within is found,
The soothing hand that comforts
When we need another’s grace
And the strength of will that steadies
Throughout every task we face.
You are the crashing storm that rolls in
After stifling heat of day,
The calm that settles over
After clouds have cleared away,
The breeze that stirs the stillness
After calm has run its course,
And the Centre that sustains us
As we weather every force.
You are the grief that helps us honour
The hurts we have to bear,
The hope that rises out of
The darkness of despair,
The joy that re-awakens
After sorrow’s cried its tears
And the sense of peace that enters
When we’re mindful that You’re near.
You’re the laughter that uplifts us
On the ordinary day,
The friendship that inspires
And brings fun along the way,
You’re the kin who love so deeply –
Those who share life’s every turn
And the dreams that keep us searching
For the Sacred Gifts we yearn.
Centre of all Living,
Our Balance and our Guide,
When we follow Your sure Rhythm,
Lasting trust and peace abide
For each thing in all Creation,
Every part of each Domain
Cycles and replenishes
Again … and … again.
– Karen Scott Barss (2005)
Both poems are informed by wise teachings and grounded guidance that I have been blessed to receive throughout my life, learning, and career. I don’t know where I would be without them … those gems shared with deep compassion, touching my spirit and reminding it of its strength and resilience when they were needed most. Such experiences remind me that it is worth taking the risk to bring my whole self to everything I do; only then can I, too, fully offer the best of what I have to give.
May you receive as much compassion and grace on your journey as I have been lucky enough to receive on mine.
Karen
