poem – Authentic Freedom Academy

Letting Go

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Lauri Ann Lumby

For many, the past year has been a continual journey of release – of letting go that which no longer serves and letting go of what we thought served, but the Universe had something else in mind. I first discovered the work of today’s blog contributor through my friend, poet and author, Jay Ramsay. This poem spoke to my heart and I knew it would speak to the hearts of others. So thank you to Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB for sharing her work with us. Today’s poem, The Sacrament of Letting Go, comes from her book Seasons of Your Heart (Harper Collins).

Macrina

Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB

The Sacrament of Letting Go

Slowly

She celebrated the sacrament of

Letting Go…

First she surrendered her Green

Then the Orange, yellow, and Red…

Finally she let go of her Brown…

Shedding her last leaf

She stood empty and silent, stripped bare

Leaning against the sky she began her vigil of trust…

Shedding her last leaf

She watched its journey to the ground…

She stood in silence,

Wearing the color of emptiness

Her branches wondering:

How do you give shade, with so much gone?

And then, the sacrament of waiting began

The sunrise and sunset watched with

Tenderness, clothing her with silhouettes

They kept her hope alive.

They helped her understand that

her vulnerability

her dependence and need

her emptiness

her readiness to receive

were giving her a new kind of beauty.

Every morning and every evening she stood in silence and celebrated

the sacrament of waiting.

Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB is a Benedictine Sister from St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She is well-known for her creative writing and retreat ministry. Monastic spirituality has had a great influence in her writing and retreat ministry.

She has authored eight books: Seasons of Your Heart, A Tree Full of Angels, The Song of the Seed, published by HarperCollins; Seven Sacred Pauses: living mindfully through the hours, Gold in Your Memories, Behold Your Life and The Circle of Life (co-authored with Joyce Rupp) published by Ave Maria Press. Abide: keeping vigil with the Word of God is her latest work, published by Liturgical Press.

Visit her blog: http://macrina-underthesycamoretree.blogspot.com/

Authentic Freedom, Inspiration

Knowing Ourselves

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Lauri Ann Lumby

Last Thursday I had the amazing opportunity to attend a day of reflection with poet David Whyte. In the spirit of that day, I have dusted off an old poem that I wrote about our journey to discover ourselves. As you read this poem, reflect on who you know yourself to be and how you have discovered this.

The Woman I Know Myself to Be

The Woman I know myself to be,

Created by God, in persons three.

Holy Spirit, feminine Divine

Creator God, your breath is mine.

Christos, human actualized,

the journey, fully realized.

Within my heart, the truth be told,

denying lies that I have been sold:

“Unworthy of another’s love,

in sin created, not of God above.

It is never enough, whatever you do,

and how could anyone really love you?

If they knew the truth of the woman you be,

then surely they would turn and flee!

Not perfect, no matter how hard you try!”

Encased in my body, living the lie.

But through the years and through the tears,

I have sorted out these fears,

and deep within the muck and grime,

I have discovered the truth sublime.

Beauty is my name you see.

Joy the dance inside of me.

Created in and of God’s love,

God within, not from above.

Never separate, always one,

To this truth, I have come.

The Woman I know myself to be,

is made of love, not sin you see.

Beautiful, wise, intelligent, kind;

a loving mother, you’ll surely find.

Compassionate, tender, silly and fun,

Passionate, sexy, smile bright as the sun.

Strong, yet vulnerable, healthy in mind,

admitting to weakness, accepted as fine.

The wounded healer I know me to be,

living life’s lessons, the truth set me free.

I am singer, dancer, writer and friend,

student, creator, to thee prayers I send.

Love and joy, the breath that made me,

know that this is too what made thee.

Created in the image of God,

belief in less – illusion and fraud.

Divine is what we truly be,

if we but live authentically.

Seeking God above all else,

toasting to the growing wealth

of abundant promises discovered true –

All of this is made for you!

Realizing faith defined,

owning the truth in body and mind:

One not two or three or four,

love alone unlocks the door.

Believing the promise of Creator Divine:

“I love you and you are mine.”

Lauri Lumby

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Being Human, creativity

Overtaken by Restlessness

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Lauri Ann Lumby

For the past several days, I have been overtaken by an impatient restlessness. I can’t focus. I can’t seem to accomplish anything. I feel nervous, anxious, even bored. With the school year approaching and a mile-long to-do list of business related activities I’m supposed to be getting done so that I can have a productive and profitable fall, I am tempted to FORCE myself to GET IT DONE. Instead, I find myself distracted. I feel a little like a woman in labor, restlessly pacing the floor waiting for the next CONTRACTION. I brought this restlessness to prayer and God said, “Lauri, don’t you remember, this is the week I told you to BE QUIET.” Great….how am I supposed to be quiet with all this noise in my head, chaos in my body and children asking, asking, demanding my attention: “Mommy, what are we going to do today? Can we go shopping today? I need, this and this and this for school. I need a ride to and from practice. Our first home game is tomorrow night.” ARGH! So, in the spirit of this restlessness (I can’t be the only one!), here is a poem I wrote about the wind and the new life it stirs in our being:

I am the wind

Blowing chaos into

Empty spaces

Prying free the twisted,

Grasping

Fingers of complacency

And stagnation

Tossing them into the air

To be cleansed,

Dusted

Released

Tumbling topsy-turvy on my breath

Towards new life,

New discoveries,

New growth

Unleashing the creative genius

Locked within.

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Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com