Celebrate the return to self

Derek Wolcott’s poem, “Love After Love” beautifully expresses a return to self, a celebration of our true nature, honoring our “coming home” with compassion and love. May we all feast on a life lived true!

LOVE AFTER LOVE
by Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

The road to reawakening

Another new beginning.

Or rather, a reconnecting to an abandoned road.

The process of reawakening is not a linear one.

It loops and turns and breaks.

It wanders and finds its way back.

It bolts and stalls.

It is fierce and quiet.

The journey may not be as alluring as many of those celebrated in story.

The ones that tell a tale of hardship quickly followed by transformation.

The stories that have me questioning whether my own messy journey

is the right one.

The nonlinear journey isn’t as romantic.

It may not be as inspiring at the surface.

But it is real and it is powerful.

I want to hear about the dirtly details,

the struggles, the angst, the doubts & regrets.

I want to hear from those who are on their way

to rediscover and transform themselves

through the obstacles, through the fear.

Harnessing the resiliency and determination to

move through the muck.

It is indeed the journey, not the destination, that matters most.

The destination is a magnificent bonus.

So embrace the journey.

Even when you feel lost or in doubt.

When it seems that there is no movement

and the dream appears to have died.

Especially when the dream appears to have died.

When the beating of your heart’s dream is faint,

be still and listen.

Go deep within, for it still beats on.

Cheers to the beautiful brave souls

who have embarked on their journey

or are on the verge of answering the call.

I celebrate you!