THE JOURNEY by Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
Mary Oliver's poem speaks to me of a deep inner healing journey and an intimate, body-centered relationship to creativity. She writes from an embodied, inner knowing of the challenging task there is to healing and the understandable resistance we have to doing it. She beautifully captures the voices of our resistance, pulling us back every step of the way.
These ancient voices that hang on so vigilantly, with their goal of keeping us safe and out of harm's reach, end up being the very bars of the cage that prevent us from flying free. So familiar and ingrained, they are often invisible to us.
She captures the resilient, authentic-self-voice, striving to grow and evolve in spite of the great challenges it faces. She writes of the courageous spirit, plodding along with great effort at times, triumphantly burning through the illusions of the past, to see our light, our sparkle and our infinite expanse.
We end up back at that deep, inner wisdom, knowing that we must save ourselves. We are the only ones who can do it.
Her creativity has embraced her healing journey, producing a beautiful poem for all of us to lean into and find strength from as we travel along on our own healing journeys.
Photo:SOUL CARDS, Deborah Koff-Chapin
Post a Comment