May the sun bring you new energy by day May the moon softly restore you by night May the rain wash away your worries May the breeze blow new strength into your being May you walk gently through the world And know its beauty all the days of your life.
Apachi Prayer
My lovely Aunt Mary sent me this beautiful poem for my birthday last month. I wanted to share its grace and wisdom with you.
The Moon Speaking
I remember that night, when I was full-on
in my shiny best, I got a glimpse of you moving
along the sandy shore. You caught my attention
as you skipped from spot to spot on the wet sand
where the gentle waves caress the earth. You were chasing
sand crabs. Whether teeny-tiny or the bigger ones, those
armored beings always beat your lumbering foot, like a giant \
overtaking them, back into their little bitty holes. You
giggled at their speed and spoke to them in laughter. When you
tired of your rollicking pursuit, you paused on the sand and
gazed out over the water to the horizon. Your spine
straightened like a tree in the summer sun and your chest
curved ever so slightly toward the sky, like a baby opening
her mouth, hungry to be nourished, completely trusting
her mother. As if just noticing it’s the light on in the room
that is keeping things from being dark, you look my way.
As you lean back with your arms wide in a heart-centered kiss
of communion, I sense your imagination unfolding like a flower.
In the mirror of my being, you see your power, your beauty
and strength. You claim the truth: how you simply need to be,
emanating your light, in phases, not always glowing in your
full glory because sometimes you need to rest.
You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born. Fear not the strangeness you feel. The future must enter you long before it happens. Just wait for the birth, for the hour of new clarity. ~Rainer Maria Rilke
…the future waiting to be born…hmmm…something about that…
Rilke invites me to see that the future is here with us, right now, that we actually are carrying it through our days, giving it shape with each breath, each opening, each little invitation for a better world.
Some other inspiring Rilke quotes to invite perspective and possibility:
“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
“Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.”