This landed friend, thank you. I am reminded of the recording of the last Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird from the 80s. It is beautiful and haunting, and somehow made even more special because it is the last surviving bird calling to a mate that it will never find. I wept when I heard it. Initially, I thought I wept because it was deeply romantic and tragic. And then I realized How beautiful the call was and I wondered how tragic things can be so full of beauty. And I realized that in the call of longing for the partner was the partner itself. So it is with us: When I express my longing for the Beloved, it is the beloved that issues from of my mouth. When the wound sings, it is not with the voice of injury, but with the voice of wholeness and health.
You are not merely lonely for a person. You are lonely for the source. Are you channeling St Augustine or drinking from the same spring-"For you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”(Confessions)
My religious tradition translates ordination as separation. A nazirite vow separates from one community to another more demanding one. A lonely one. Perhaps Rumi’s reed understood the loneliness of being chosen to work, walk and worship beyond your wounds. Thank you for sharing.
I like that part of this is just common sense. Asking ourselves. Am I tired? Am I hungry? the same as we would ask a toddler. Listening before trying to fix. Not turning the wound into a throne.
I hosted family yesterday in a house filled with chaos. Furniture undusted, clutter on the shelves. No one mentioned the clutter. If they saw the dust they didn't acknowledge it. They praised the food. They delighted in my gardens. They sat under the pergola and allowed the breeze to cool their skin as they drank ice cold water. In another time, I would have spent hours prepping a home to appear perfect, and I would collapse in complete exhaustion later in the evening. I was tired but complete, because I had been present in every moment. At a time in my life where I am navigating major life changes and things out of my control, I have somehow found peace in losing control, or rather releasing it. I don't have all of the words and maybe never will, but Rumi finds me in your writing this morning, and once again, I'm grateful for this wisdom.
I took turns reading & listening at the same time depending on what my senses could handle as the voice & the words unrolled. Taking this into my Dreamtime & will likely wake up as a homing pigeon & come back again tomorrow. Quite a cornucopia of emotions - ponder, aha!, edgy, tender, guffaw, totally relate, confused, soothed, hopeful, abandoned, lightbulb!, calmed down, questioning, understanding, giggling, peaceful, definitely coming back again tomorrow. I need to soak in a hot bath with spikenard & laurel & hear that hollow reed. 🫧🛁🌿
This landed friend, thank you. I am reminded of the recording of the last Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird from the 80s. It is beautiful and haunting, and somehow made even more special because it is the last surviving bird calling to a mate that it will never find. I wept when I heard it. Initially, I thought I wept because it was deeply romantic and tragic. And then I realized How beautiful the call was and I wondered how tragic things can be so full of beauty. And I realized that in the call of longing for the partner was the partner itself. So it is with us: When I express my longing for the Beloved, it is the beloved that issues from of my mouth. When the wound sings, it is not with the voice of injury, but with the voice of wholeness and health.
I never knew about the recording of the last bird’s song & by the time i got to your words “I wept” I was crying. Thank you for all that you wrote.
❤️ 🤲
Sometimes, VMB, your words are so powerful, so honest, so close to the bone … deep bow in gratitude and appreciation.
You are not merely lonely for a person. You are lonely for the source. Are you channeling St Augustine or drinking from the same spring-"For you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”(Confessions)
My religious tradition translates ordination as separation. A nazirite vow separates from one community to another more demanding one. A lonely one. Perhaps Rumi’s reed understood the loneliness of being chosen to work, walk and worship beyond your wounds. Thank you for sharing.
I like that part of this is just common sense. Asking ourselves. Am I tired? Am I hungry? the same as we would ask a toddler. Listening before trying to fix. Not turning the wound into a throne.
You offer so many inspiring connections with Rumi’s profound picture —
“The reed has to be hollow to sing.
The reed becomes music,
becomes holy
because something real moves through the opening.
The reed has to be hollow to sing.”
Thank you🙏
Stunning!!
I hosted family yesterday in a house filled with chaos. Furniture undusted, clutter on the shelves. No one mentioned the clutter. If they saw the dust they didn't acknowledge it. They praised the food. They delighted in my gardens. They sat under the pergola and allowed the breeze to cool their skin as they drank ice cold water. In another time, I would have spent hours prepping a home to appear perfect, and I would collapse in complete exhaustion later in the evening. I was tired but complete, because I had been present in every moment. At a time in my life where I am navigating major life changes and things out of my control, I have somehow found peace in losing control, or rather releasing it. I don't have all of the words and maybe never will, but Rumi finds me in your writing this morning, and once again, I'm grateful for this wisdom.
Thank you for breathing into the flute, VMB. Lovely metaphors, and many smiles throughout.
Feel this deeply
I took turns reading & listening at the same time depending on what my senses could handle as the voice & the words unrolled. Taking this into my Dreamtime & will likely wake up as a homing pigeon & come back again tomorrow. Quite a cornucopia of emotions - ponder, aha!, edgy, tender, guffaw, totally relate, confused, soothed, hopeful, abandoned, lightbulb!, calmed down, questioning, understanding, giggling, peaceful, definitely coming back again tomorrow. I need to soak in a hot bath with spikenard & laurel & hear that hollow reed. 🫧🛁🌿