The World Offers Itself to You…

Sitting quietly early this morning to listen for what the theme of this newsletter should be, I was surprised to hear Mary Oliver’s famous poem, Wild Geese, begin in my head.

As with so many great poems, choices abound for phrases or words that jump out to you each time you read and ponder it.

Slowly reading it, I felt the light of recognition that happens when something is meant for you upon reaching the line “…the world offers itself to your imagination.” What a beautiful invitation to be with in this holy season and as we anticipate the arrival of the new year.

“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out… You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.” ―Mae C. Jemison

What do you need to re-imagine about your experience of the holidays, the new year, and your life?  Consider the possibility that Mary Oliver’s words reveal a deep truth. What if the world truly does offer itself to your imagination? What if you let the childlike wonder and awe of the season infuse your imagination to co-create with Spirit this season?

“Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come.” ―Victor Hugo

Imagine a 2026 that is better than you could have expected for yourself and the world just a day ago. What if you let excitement build for what’s to come?

May you use the gift of your imagination to co-create with the Holy One an experience of the holidays and the new year in ways that bring you peace, love, and joy.

Use Your Imagination…

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”

― Albert Einstein

Imagination’s Gift of Empathy

“Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not – and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation – in its’ arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

—J.K. Rowling

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

— Mary Oliver. Listen to Mary read this poem (YouTube) HERE.