"today i love the world.last week it was a vile place,
broken, beyond repair.
and my mind reached out
in all directions
like a spider's spindly legs
to mend and weave
and fill the empty spaces,
until falling, exhausted
dangling by a single thread,
discouraged and utterly humiliated
that i couldn’t mend the fissures,
that i ever thought i could.
today i love the world,
the faces on the street
the wind and chill.
pausing to look up through
dark bare branches,
reaching out in all directions
against the vast bright blue.
soon buds and leaves
will fill the empty spaces.
In the mind of this love
the fissures mend themselves."
-excerpts from "a heart as wide as the world: living with mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion" by sharon salzberg
-painting by mary rodning
2 comments:
Hi Jessa,
Many thanks for posting that beautiful passage from my dear friend Sharon's work.
You might enjoy the chance to ask her a question for a webcast she and I are conducting about her new book--The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Companion--as a gift to the world for Kindness Week (Nov. 10-17)
I'm encouraging everyone here in the US to put practical kindness to work on all the changes we're navigating as President Elect Obama prepares to take office.
Here's to your restored hope!
With Kindness,
Rachel Bagby
http://budurl.com/kindwise
Jessa,
This
In the mind of this love
the fissures mend themselves.
is lovely.
thank you.
s
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