The naturally occurring arch at the entrance to the “Gem” portion of the McKenzie River Trail, in the western Oregon Cascades (2023)

Approx. read time: 2:45 min.

Please note, Gentle Reader, I don’t mean anything
prescripted, dogmatic, sharp-edged,
exclusionary, confined, or confining.

I think now of that whispered invitation into the sacred,
the gate swinging wide, the verdant archway
fresh with river dew, ready, beckoning,

and the startle of the heart,
the surprise that washes over you
to think that you might regather and rebind
all that had fallen apart within you,
broken bits and pieces,
and in this moment
begin to feel whole again.

I think now of that one first step,
quiet, and confident,
all hesitations unfettered, set free,
your own self now free, to the core,
to come home, settle in
at the hearth of your heart,

the welcoming fire kindled and crackling,
making easy the rise and flow of
murmurings of a heart now free,
at home, unburdened, and grateful
for what you cannot really name,

grateful for what is beyond you
yet fully within you, encouragements of
the sacred ancestors, the company of all
the blessed ones who’ve walked
this complex and sacred path of Life before you.

This, Gentle Reader, is the religion I have in mind,
and the gracious host who welcomes you
into this space which always has been
held for you, awaiting your arrival,
your startled heart now able to settle in.

Yes, all those disparate pieces of self and
experience, trauma, and muscle memory
of hope, of love, now welcomed, and at peace.

And you begin to lean in to a long forgotten
promise of possibility that some day,
one day, soon, perhaps today,
perhaps now, you will begin the slow
and beautiful turn toward the Real Human Being
you always were meant to be.

Ah, this is the religion that makes whole,
that makes sense of the miles
you’ve traveled thus far,
and sheds light on the path ahead,

the religion that deftly weaves
the connected and disconnected threads
into the beautiful tapestry of Self Fully Alive,
present, unapologetic, purified, sacred, whole, 

and ready, down to the very core of you,
to touch your world with tender grace and peace.

This is religion worth embracing,
that heals and binds together both
the complicated and the beautiful elements
of your one precious self into your True Humanity, 

and looks into your eyes in
utter compassion and joy,
and whispers your name: Beloved.
________________________________________

Be well. Love one another. Live in Peace.

If you’ve come across this blog through a friend or by chance, sign up now for my occasional posts and updates on my work.