Daily Reminder # 37

(Please scroll down for the Weekly Wordzzle Challenge.)


My friend E, for whom these reminders were started, has requested that I put some of my poetry into them. I don't think I've ever shared this one before. Temenos is a Greek word that means "sacred space," and was the name of a group which held a series of workshops I attended which changed my life. The sacred space referred to here was the idea that what was shared in the context of the workshops was private and sacred and that it was a holy space.

I think it's important to make a sacred space for ourselves if we can... to find a physical space where we are able to be quiet and tap into our Spirit, our inner peace and give comfort and nurture to our Soul. But I think we also need to find a way to create an internal sacred space... or maybe to recognize that we ARE sacred space... in our very essence and to listen to the voices calling from inside us, having compassion for them even when they are a nuisance or we feel guilty because we don't know how to honor them. Just listening honors them. Just having compassion for every aspect of our being honors the sacredness that is inherent in being a living, breathing, laughing, crying, suffering, rejoycing, searching, finding, confused, perfectly imperfect Child of God/Creation.

POEM FOR TEMENOS

Awakening the Spirit...

It was awake already, of course,

Twisting restless in my dreams

Poking me at odd hours

Begging me to take notice

And of course I did

And didn't know quite what to do

For an insomniac soul

And what I see now

Is that the name is wrong

It wasn't me awakening my spirit

But my spirit trying to awaken me

And now it's roused me from my waking dream

But what am I to do?

How get to know this sad somnambulist that I have been?

And so I go on, Deepening the Work

And touch a well of tears and pain

But safely, gently,

Held in a circle of loving hearts

Begin to face my fears

And watch them start to shrink from shadow size

To their true stature

And now, my heart aroused,

The spirit beckons on,

And set more free, begins to dance

- Katherine E. Rabenau

and another poem.... this one I've posted before.

AWAKENING

October 1, 1999

Live as big as the sky, she said

And I felt my heart awaken and take note

As big as the sky? it asked?

Can I do that?

I don’t know, I said,

Liking always to be truthful.

But we can try.

- Katherine E. Rabenau

I know this bunny doesn't really fit

the theme (such as it is), but it's

cute so I included it.

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• watermelon
• my wonderful mattress
• sunshine
• friends
• my computer
• gogi berry juice

and

• visiting woodchucks

I was feeling rather sorry for myself this evening. I have felt really awful all day. I took a long nap, woke up feeling like death warmed over and was bemoaning my fate while I dished supper for Angel and Tara Grace. I noticed Angel at the back door all excited and there was a visitor who cheered me up a bit. I have no idea if it's a girl or a boy, but have decided to call her Charlotte because she's small. I enjoyed her visit. It perked me up a bit.