“Walk Me through this One….
Don’t Leave Me Alone”*
Friends,
Summer hovers, her arms opening to us.
The many-shades-of-green dazzle.
The temperatures peak,
And dip.
The rains intensify,
Then disappear.
Even they
Seem searching
For their true expression
Of the changing season.
Oh!
This Mary Oliver poem.
I’m hearing it just now.
Again and again, she lands it so perfectly.
It is called:
I Dream of Trees
Mary Oliver
There is a thing in me that dreamed of trees,
A quiet house, some green and modest acres
A little way from every troubling town,
A little way from factories, schools, laments.
I would have time, I thought, and time to spare,
With only streams and birds for company,
To build out of my life a few wild stanzas.
And then it came to me, that so was death,
A little way away from everywhere.
There is a thing in me still dreams of trees.
But let it go. Homesick for moderation,
Half the world’s artists shrink or fall away.
If any find solution, let him tell it.
Meanwhile I bend my heart toward lamentation
Where, as the times implore our true involvement,
The blades of every crisis point the way.
I would it were not so, but so it is.
Who ever made music of a mild day?
But so it is, Mary tells us.
How do we engage in this world of ours,
This world that is constricting,
Limiting already established freedoms
And expressions?
How do we live in kindness
During this time of greed?
How do we live in light,
During this time of darkness?
We offer kindness
First to ourselves.
And from this place of compassion,
We engage with each other.
There are actions to take, of course.
As they become clear.
As best we can.
We practice.
~~~
And we ask for help.
We do not have to go through this moment alone.
We do not have to.
There is Protection. There is Care.
It just doesn’t feel that way,
Especially when the moment is hard.
This is a deep and cherished song to me.
I believe I have never shared it in a blog.
I offer it in the Inner Quest on the final day,
That program I hold so preciously, so closely to my heart.
The song is a requesting of support, of guidance from that which is greater than us.
Call them angels, if that works for you.
Call them teachers, if that is your understanding.
Call it Grace or Energy.
Call it Nothing.
Here is Calling All Angels, with Jane Siberry and KD Lang:
We don’t have to know the way.
How could we?
That’s not even possible.
All we need to do
Is to put our foot down
In the next, best place.
One step leads to the next,
To the next.
And you, dear friends,
How do you request energetic and spiritual support?
How do you ask for help, literally?
What are your practices of asking?
~~~
Dear Friends,
One step,
One breath,
One thing
At
A
Time.
May we remember
We are not alone.
May we practice remembering.
May we honor our forgetting.
May all beings benefit for our shared words.
Truly,
Aruni
~~~
* Lyrics from Calling All Angels, Jane Siberry and KD Lang