Stay Awake…
“An awake heart is like a sky that pours light.”
― Hafiz
Were you able to sooth your spirit or quiet your mind over Memorial Day weekend? After the trauma of this past week, it would be understandable if you avoided any news or even any ways to honor the meaning of Memorial Day.
I certainly took a needed break and enjoyed with extra zest the pleasure of being with friends.
In moments of stillness though, Rumi’s words “Don’t go back to sleep” kept coming into my awareness all through the weekend. For me these words are an invitation to stay awake to the joy of being alive in each moment and to the need to do my part to bring about the change I wish to see. What does “Don’t go back to sleep” mean to you?
Don’t Go Back To Sleep
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
― Rumi translated by Coleman Barks, from Essential Rumi
The naturally slower pace of summer offers an opportunity for each of us to find the right balance between using our precious free time for rejuvenating fun experiences and taking steps to bring about change. Where is your awakened heart calling you?
May staying awake support you in savoring simple pleasures and being of service in ways you never imagined.
What You Are Doing
Reawaken
ReawakenNot Knowing
Not KnowingI am willing
to not know—to linger
in that shadowy,
in-between place,in the
sometimes
awkward silence.I am willing
to hold
the part of me
that is afraid
of the dark—that desperately
wants to run
headlong
toward the first
faint glimmer
of light,
no matter the source.I am willing
to have the patience
to wait
until the mud settles
and my mind
is clear,to trust
the fertility
of stillness,to seek
the clearer, brighter light
that burns
just beyond
the dark shadows.― By Kai Siedenburg, from Space Between the Stones: Poetry and Practices for Connecting with Nature, Spirit, and Creativity
