#MicroPoetry|March ’17 Reflections

I have friend’s who are certainly called to advocacy work that often brings them into places where our humanity and care for one another is eclipsed by the harm we do to one another and Creation. This A Deacon’s Musing, therefore, is a reminder of the resilience that often is present and emanates from those who walk into these shadowed and dark places. I am grateful for your faithful work, which often goes unseen and unspoken.

#ShineOn!

Brené Brown has shared helpful wisdom about the strength that arises in shared and acknowledged vulnerability. Her reflections remind me of the resilience that is fostered in communities – whether that’s a family, workplace, or faith community – when our trials, joys, and suffering are shared in safe places. I think when such places are nurtured, they become sacred opportunities to see our shared commonality. This A Deacon’s Musing #MicroPoetry attempts to capture that in this #Verse.

I have recently had several friends suffer unexpected loss or illness. Too often – especially when experienced by men – the response is either an apologetic for tears falling in grief & anger or dismissiveness of the times when our bodies speak to us, even when we do not listen. This A Deacon’s Musing #MicroPoetry is my attempt to make space to embrace the healing that arises with tears falling …

The catalyst for this A Deacon’s Musing #MicroPoetry was the phrase: “birthright of peace,” which I came upon from a reflective daily email I receive from the Enneagram Institute. I was struck by trying to discern what that means. Working backwards – if you will – from the Self to community, I began to muse about how relationships with others, may be the way we reflectively embrace that birthright. What do you think?

This has been one of those days – the pause between the dullness of winter’s end and spring’s long-for-colour. This A Deacon’s Musing #MicroPoetry, therefore, is an attempt to capture the promise of pending bloom of colours vibrant.

As I was writing this A Deacon’s Musing #MicroPoetry, I was trying to capture in the short #Verse what it might be like if we imagined ourselves as a couple seeking intimate union as a dance. What if we considered that our mind and spirit were not dualistic, but intimately connected? This is the result of that musing …

One of the most helpful ways that I have heard the spiritual journey described is as an ongoing awakening. I find the metaphor helpful, as it does not imply judgement. Rather, the opportunity to make choices feels liberating and acknowledges we are all at different stages as life unfolds. This A Deacon’s Musing #MicroPoetry, therefore, attempts to capture that in this #Verse.

It often seems that when we keep looking where we expect to find something new or an option not yet considered that nothing appears. Yet sometimes, it takes a different perspective, situating oneself in a new venue that what was once just a wall, may very well be a doorway. This A Deacon’s Musing #MicroPoetry attempts to capture that in a #Verse.